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Professor of History 
University of Illinois 
1916-1949 





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ENGLISH AND FOREIGN 


PHILOSOPHICAL LIBRARY. 





VOLUME XXIX. 








A COMPREHENSIVE COMMENTARY 


ON 


TRE GU RN N: 


COMPRISING SALE’S TRANSLATION 


AND 


PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE, 


WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES AND EMENDATIONS. 


TOGETHER WITH 


q Complete Ender to the Text, Preliminary Discourse, 
and SPotes, 


By THE Rev. E. M. WHERRY, M.A. 


VOL. I. 


BOSTON: 
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY. 
NEW YORK: 11 EAST SEVENTEENTH STREET. 
The Riverside Jress, Cambridge. 
1882. 





\ / 
ee 
7 ‘\o 


PREFACE. 


In presenting to the public the first volume of 4 Com- 
prehensive Commentary on the Quran, I think it necessary 
to make a brief statement as to the reasons which have 
led to the publication of this work, and the object sought 
to be attained thereby. 

The idea of preparing such a work grew out of the wants 
which I felt in the pursuit of my own study of the Quran, 
and in the work of a missionary among Muslims, The 

\time required to gather up the results of the labours of 
“various writers on Islam; the difficulty of preserving 
_othese results in a form suitable for convenient reference ; 
and the still greater difficulty of bringing the truth thus 
.zacquired to bear on the minds of Muslims, owing to the 
_ absence of any medium whereby the proof-texts, referred 
to in the English works by chapter and verse, may be found 
_oin the original copies current among Muhammadans, 
< where no such mode of reference is used ;—all these sug- 
Gjgested the great need of a work which would remove in 
some degree at least these obstacles to the study of the 
o Quran, and thus promote a better knowledge of Islam 
> among missionaries. 
ak It will thus be seen that I have not laboured simply to 


= make a book. I have endeavoured to provide for a felt 
a b 


— 
. 


vi PREFACE, 


want. My object has been to gather up in a few volumes 
the results of the labours of those who have endeavoured 
to elucidate the text of the Quran, adding the results of 
my own study. It is in this sense that this work is en- 
titled a Comprehensive Commentary. Though primarily, 
intended for the use of those who, like myself, are engaged 
in missionary work among Muhammadans, it is hoped 
that it will render valuable service to others. 

The plan adopted in the preparation of this work is as 
follows :— 

I. To present Sale’s translation of the Quran in the 
form of the Arabic original, indicating the Sipdéra, Surat, 
fiugts of the Sipdra, Ruqt of the Stirat, &c., as they are in 
the best Oriental editions. 

II. To number the verses as they are in the Roman . 
Urdu edition of Maulvi Abdul Qadir’s translation. This 
arrangement will be of special benefit to missionaries in 
India. 

III. To exhibit in the notes and comments the views 
of the best Muslim commentators. For these I am in- 
debted for the most part to Sale, the Zafstr-1-Rauji, the 
Tafstr-r-Hussain, the Tafstr-i-Fatah-ar-Rahmdn, and the 
notes on Abdul Qddir’s Urdu translation of the Quran. 
Sale’s notes have been almost entirely drawn (with the 
aid of Maracci’s work in Latin) from the standard writings 
of Baidhawi, the Jalalain, and Al Zamakhshari. I have 
also culled much from some of the best European writers 
on Islam, a list of whose works may be found below. 

IV. To the above is prefixed Sale’s Preliminary Dis- 
course, with additional notes and emendations. And 
the last volume will contain a complete Index, both to 
the text of, and the notes on, the Quran, which will enable 
the reader to acquaint himself with the teaching of the 


PREFACE. vil 


Quran on any particular subject, with a very small amount 
of labour. 

In regard to the spelling of proper names, I have 
invariably Romanised the original form of the words, 
except when quoting from living authors, in which case 
I have felt obliged to retain the spelling peculiar to each 
writer. 

In order to facilitate the study of individual chapters, 
and to help a better understanding of the various “ revela- 
tions,” I have prefixed to each chapter a brief introduction, 
showing the circumstances under which the revelations 
were made, the date of their publication by Muhammad, 
and also giving a brief analysis of each chapter as to its 
teaching. 

As to the matter of the notes, the reader will perceive 
occasional repetition. This is due in part to the repe- 
titions of the text, and partly in order to call special 
attention to certain doctrines of the Quran, ¢.g., its testi- 
mony to the genuineness and credibility of the Christian 
Scriptures current in the days of Muhammad ; the evidence 
it affords to its own character as a fabrication; its testi- 
mony to the imposture of the Arabian prophet, in his 
professing to attest the Former Scriptures, while denying 
almost every cardinal doctrine of the same,—in his putting 
into the mouth of God garbled statements as to Scripture 
history, prophecy, and doctrine, to suit the purposes of 
his prophetic pretensions,—and in his appealing to Divinity 
to sanction his crimes against morality and decency. 

The need of emphasising facts of this kind has grown 
out of the attempt of certain apologists for Islam to ignore 
these unpleasant truths, and to exhibit to the present 
generation an ideal Muhammad, no less unlike the prophet 
of Arabia than the Muhammad of Christian bigotry and 


Vili PREFACE. 
misrepresentation. My endeavour has been to show what 
the Quran actually teaches on these subjects. 

On the other hand, I have endeavoured to remove, 
as far as known to me, the misapprehensions, and conse- 
quent misrepresentations, of the doctrines of the Quran, 
popular among Christians, believing that every such error 
strengthens the prejudices of Muhammadans, and thereby 
aids the cause it seeks to overthrow, whilst justifying 
similar misrepresentation from the Muslim side. Every- 
where I have endeavoured to advance the cause of truth, 
to show just what the Quran teaches, and so by stating 
fairly the issues of the controversy with Islam, to advance 
the great cause of bringing its votaries to a knowledge 
of Him to whom all the prophets of God pointed as the 
Son of God and the Saviour of sinners. 

Finally, whilst I desire to express my obligations to all 
those, now living, whose writings I have consulted or used 
in the preparation of this volume, I wish specially to 
make thankful acknowledgment of the help afforded me 
by Sir William Muir, in permitting me to make use of 
his most valuable works on Muhammad and the Quran in 
the preparation of this work. My thanks are also due to 
the Rev. P. M. Zenker, C.M.S. missionary, Agra, for much 
valuable assistance in gathering material from sources 
inaccessible to me. 

Without further preface, and earnestly desiring the 
blessing of Him who is THE ONLY SINLESS PROPHET OF 
IsLAm, and the only Saviour of fallen men, I commend 


this volume to the reader. 


Lopi1ana, December 31, 1881. 


CONTENTS. 


————————— 

PAGE 

PREFACE : : : ; : : : ‘ : : Vv 
SALE’S PREFACE : : ; ; ‘ ‘ : ; 3 


SALE’S PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 
SECT. 
I.—Of the Arabs before Muhammad ; or, as they express 
it, in the Time of Ignorance ; their sentite as 
Tiearnine, and Customs . : 13 
Il.—Of the State of Christianity, a tara of ae Eastern 
Churches, and of Judaism, at the time of Muham- 
mad’s Appearance ; and of the Methods taken by 
him for the Establishing his Religion, and the Cir- 
cumstances which concurred thereto . : 61 
III.—Of the Quran itself, the Peculiarities of that Book ; the 
Manner of its being Written and Published, and 
the General Design fe. it : : 96 
IV.—Of the Doctrines and Positive Precepts of the aise 
which relate to Faith and Religious Duties . Bak 
V.—Of Certain Negative Precepts in the Quran . : weIOr 
VI.—Of the Institutions of the Quran in Civil Affairs 7205 
~VII.—Of the Months commanded by the Quran to be kept 
Sacred ; and of the setting apart of Friday for the 
aya Service of God . : ey 227 
VIII. Of the Principal Sects among the eae and 
of those who have Preened to Prophecy among 


the Arabs in or since the time of Muhammad 233 
THE QURAN. 
CHAP. 
I.—Entitled Surat ul Fatihat (The Preface). : : ear, 


II.—Entitled Surat ul Baqr (The Cow). : : - ee 201 





LIST OF AUTHORS AND BOOKS QUOTED AND 
MADE USE OF IN THE PREPARATION OF 
THIS VOLUME. 


ABDUL QApIR IBN Watt UbtLAn. Translation of the Quran, with 
' Notes, in Urdu. 

ARNOLD, JoHN MUEHLEISEN, D.D, Isl4m: Its History, Character, 
and Relation to Christianity. Third edition. 

BurcKHArpDT, J. L. Notes on the Bedouins and Wahdbys. 2 vols. 
1831. 

BuRTON, CAPTAIN. Teac to Mecca. 

BrinckMayn, Rev. AntHuR. Notes on Islam. 

Hiaains, Goprrey, Esq. An Apology for the Life and Character 
of the Celebrated Prophet of Arabia. 

Huauss, Rev. T. P, Notes on Muhammadanism. Second edition. 
Also, Preface and Introduction to the Roman Urdu Qurén. 
Lodiana edition. 

LANE, EpwarpD WiLLIAM. Selections from the Quran. 

Morr, Sir Witiiam, LL.D. Life of Mahomet. The Testimony 
borne by the Coran to the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. 
NorLpEKsz, TH. Origine et Compositione Surarum Quranicarum 

ipsiusque Qurdni. Geschichte des Qordans. 

PALGRAVE, W. GIFFORD. Central and Eastern Arabia. 

PripEAUX, Humpurey, D.D. Life of Mahomet. 

Ropwett, J. M. The Koran. Second edition, 1876. 

SALE, GrorGE. The Koran, with Preliminary Discourse and Notes 
on the Authority of Baidh4wi, Jalaluddin, Al Zamakhshari, &c. 

SmitH, R. BoswortsH, M.A. Mohammed and Mohammedanism. 
Second edition. 

Syep AnMAaD Kuan Bawapur. Essays on the Life of Mohammed. 

The Tafstr-i-Raufi, an Urdu Commentary on the Quran, 

The Tafsir-i-Fatah-ar-Rahméan. 

The Tafsir-i-Hussaini, a Persian Commentary on the Quran. 

The Notes on the Roman Urdu Quran. Allahabad edition, 1844. 

WHEELER, TALBoys, History of India, vol. iv., part 1. 


NOTE. 


In reading the Romanised form of Arabic proper names, the reader 


should pronounce— 


a as U in but. 

a ” a ” far. 

a s i 3 sin. 

4 ae ee “7 heed, 
0 Ry " home. 
U ” ” do, 

a if GOmna. pool. 
ae fi 1 ‘, side, 


In reading the fractional sign R 4, R 4, &c., in the margin to the 
text of the Quran, understand by the figures above the line the Rugqt 
of the Strat or chapter, and by the figures below the line the Rug& of 
the Sipara. The terms Ruba, Nisf, and Suls mark the fourth, half, 
and three-fourths of a Sipara. | 





men e > PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE,.: 
| _- WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES AND EMENDATIONS. 
q A 7 
/ 4 vy 
| oe a 





BAL OUR AGO LO hHielRELIMINAR Y 
DISCOURSE AND TRANSLATION. 





I IMAGINE it almost needless either:to make an apology 
for publishing the following translation, or to go about to 
prove it a work of use as well as curiosity. They must 
have a mean opinion of the Christian religion, or be but 
ill grounded therein, who can apprehend any danger from 
so manifest a forgery: and if the religious and civil insti- 
tutions of foreign nations are worth our knowledge, those 
of Muhammad, the lawegiver of the Arabians, and founder 
of an empire which in less than a century spread itself 
over a greater part of the world than the Romans were 
ever masters of, must needs be so; whether we consider 
their extensive obtaining, or our frequent intercourse with 
those who are governed thereby. I shall not here inquire 
into the reasons why the law of Muhammad has‘met with 
so unexampled a reception in the world (for they are 
greatly deceived who imagine it to have been propagated 
by the sword alone), or by what means it came to be 
embraced by nations which never felt the force of the 
Muhammadan arms, and even by those which stripped 
the Arabians of their conquests, and put an end to the 
- sovereignty and very being of their Khalifahs ; yetit seems 
as if there was something more than what is vulgarly 
imagined in a religion which has made so surprising a 
progress. But whatever use an impartial version of the 
Quran may be of in other respects, it is absolutely neces- 
sary to undeceive those who, from the ignorant or unfair 


4 SALE’S PREFACE. 


translations which have appeared, have entertained too 
favourable an opinion of the original, and also to enable 
us effectually to expose the imposture; none of those who 
have hitherto undertaken that province, not excepting Dr. 
Prideaux himself, having succeeded to the satisfaction of 
the judicious, for want of being complete masters of the 
controversy. The writers of the Romish communion, in 
particular, are so far from having done any service in their 
refutations of Muhammadism, that by endeavouring to 
defend their idolatry and other superstitions, they have 
rather contributed to the increase of that aversion which 
the Muhammadans in general have to the Christian re- 
ligion, and given them great advantages in the dispute. 
The Protestants alone are able to attack the Quran with 
success; and for them, I trust, Providence has reserved 
the glory of its overthrow. In the meantime, if I might 
presume to lay down rules to be observed by those who 
attempt the conversion of the Muhammadans, they should 
be the same which the learned and worthy Bishop Kidder 
has prescribed for the conversion of the Jews, and which 
may, mutatis mutandis, be equally applied to the former, 
notwithstanding the despicable opinion that writer, for 
want of being better acquainted with them, entertained 
of those people, judging them scarce fit to be argued with. 
The first of these rules is, To avoid compulsion, which, 
though it be not in our power to employ at present, I 
hope will not be made use of when itis. The second is, 
To avoid teaching doctrines against common sense; the 
Muhammadans not being such fools (whatever we may 
think of them) as to be gained over in this case. The 
worshipping of images and the doctrine of transubstantia- 
tionfare great stumbling-blocks to the Muhammadans, and 
the Church which teacheth them is very unfit to bring 
those people over. The third is, To avoid weak argu- 
meuts; for the Muhammadans are not to be converted 





1 In his Demonstr. of the Messias, part iii. chap. 2. 


SALE’S PREFACE. 5 


with these, or hard words. We must use them with 
humanity, and dispute against them with arguments that 
are proper and cogent. It is certain that many Christians 
who have written against them have been very defective 
this way: many have used arguments that have no force, 
and advanced propositions that are void of truth. This 
method is so far from convincing, that it rather serves to 
harden them. The Muhammadans will be apt to conclude 
we have little to say when we urge them with arguments 
that are trifling or untrue. We do but lose ground when 
we do this; and instead of gaining them, we expose our- 
selves and our cause also. We must not give them ill 
words neither; but must avoid all reproachful language, 
all that is sarcastical and biting: this never did good from 
pulpit or press. The softest words will make the deepest 
impression ; and if we think it a fault in them to give ill 
language, we cannot be excused when we imitate them. 
The fourth rule is, Not to quit any article of the Christian 
faith to gain the Muhammadans. It is a fond conceit of 
the Socinians that we shall upon their principles be most 
like to prevail upon the Muhammadans: it is not true in 
matter of fact. We must not give up any article to gain 
them: but then the Church of Rome ought to part with 
many practices and some doctrines. We are not to design 
to gain the Muhammadans over to a system of dogma, but 
_ to the ancient and primitive faith. I believe nobody will 
deny but that the rules here laid down are just: the latter 
part of the third, which alone my design has given me 
occasion to practise, [ think so reasonable, that I have not, 
in speaking of Muhammad or his Quran, allowed myself 
to use those opprobrious appellations, and unmannerly 
expressions, which seem to be the strongest arguments of 
several who have written against them. On the contrary, 
I have thought myself obliged to treat both with common 
decency, and even to approve such particulars as seemed 
to me to deserve approbation; for how criminal soever 
Muhammad may have been in imposing a false religion 


6 SALE’S PREFACE, 


on mankind, the praises due to his real virtues ought not 
to be denied him; nor can I do otherwise than applaud 
the candour of the pious and learned Spanhemius, who, 
though he owned him to have been a wicked impostor, 
yet acknowledged him to have been richly furnished with 
natural endowments, beautiful in his person, of a subtle 
wit, agreeable behaviour, showing liberality to the poor, 
courtesy to every one, fortitude against his enemies, and 
above all a high reverence for the name of GOD; severe 
against the perjured, adulterers, murderers, slanderers, 
prodigals, covetous, false witnesses, &c., a great preacher 
of patience, charity, mercy, beneficence, gratitude, honour- 
ing of parents and superiors, and a frequent celebrator of 
the divine praises. . 

Of the several translations of the Quran now extant, 
there is but one which tolerably represents the sense of 
the original; and that being in Latin, a new version be- 
came necessary, at least to an English reader. What 
Bibliander published for a Latin translation of that book 
deserves not the name of a translation; the unaccountable 
liberties therein taken, and the numberless faults, both of 
omission and commission, leaving scarce any resemblance 
of the original. It was made near six hundred years ago, 
being finished in 1143, by Robertus Retenensis, an Eng- 
lishman, with the assistance of Hermannus Dalmata, at 
the request of Peter, Abbot of Clugny, who paid them 
well for their pains. 

From this Latin version was taken the Italian of Andrea 
Arrivabene, notwithstanding the pretences in his dedica- 
tion of, its being done immediately from the Arabic ;? 


1 Id certum, naturalibus egregié 
dotibus instructum Muhammadem, 
forma preestanti, ingenio calido, mo- 
ribus facetis, ac pre se ferentem li- 
beralitatem in egenos, comitatem 
in singulos, fortitudinem in hostes, 
ac pre ceteris reverentiam divini 
nominis.—Severus fuit in perjuros, 
adulteros, homicidas, obtrectatores, 


prodigos, avaros, falsos testes, &c. 
Magnus idem patientie, charitatis, 
misericordiz, beneficentize, gratitu- 
dinis, honoris in parentes acsuperiores 
preco, ut et divinarum laudum. 
Hist. Eccles., sec. vii. c. 7, lem> 5 
and 7. 

2 His words are: Questo libro, 
che gia havevo & commune utilita 


SALE’S PREFACE. ey 


wherefore it is no wonder if the transcript be yet more 
faulty and absurd than the copy. 

About the end of the fifteenth century, J Brees 
Andreas, a native of Xativa in the kingdom of Valencia, 
who from a Muhammadan doctor became a Christian 
priest, translated not only the Quran, but also its glosses, 
and the seven books of the Sonna, out of Arabic into the 
Arragonian tongue, at the command of Martin Garcia,” 
Bishop of Barcelona and Inquisitor of Arragon. Whether 
this translation were ever published or not I am wholly 
ignorant ; but it may be presumed to have been the better 
done for being the work of one bred up in the Muham- 
madan heen and learning; though his refutation of 
that aSrnGy which has had: eeyeral editions, gives no 
ereat idea of his abilities. 

Some years within the last century, Andrew du Ryer, 
who had been consul of the French nation in Egypt, and 
was tolerably skilled in the Turkish and Arabic languages, 
took the pains to translate the Quran into his own tongue ; 
but his performance, though it be beyond comparison 
preferable to that of Retenensis, is far from being a just 
translation, there being mistakes in every page, besides 
frequent transpositions, omissions, and additions, faults 
unpardonable in a work of this nature. And what renders 
it still more incomplete is the want of Notes to explain a 
vast number of passages, some of which are difficult, and 
others impossible to be understood, without proper expl- 
cations, were they translated ever so exactly, which the 
author is so sensible of that he often refers his reader to 
the Arabic commentators. 

The English version is no other than a translation of 


di molti fatto dal proprio testo 362; Selden., De Success.ad Leges 

Arabo tradurre nella nostra volgar Hbreor., p. 9. 

lingua Italiana, &c. And after- 2 J. Andreas, in Pref. ad Tractat. 

wards: Questo é lAlcorano di Ma- suum de Confusione Sectz Maho- 

cometto, il quale, come ho gia detto, metane. 

ho fatto dal suo idioma tradurre, &c. 3 Vide Windet., De Vita Funeto- 
1 Vide Jos. Scalig., Epist. 361 et rum Statu, sec. ix. 


8 SALE’S "PREFACE. 


Du Ryer’s, and that a very bad one; for Alexander Ross, 
who did it, being utterly unacquainted with the Arabic, 
and no great master of the French, has added a number 
of fresh mistakes of his own to those of Du Ryer, not to 
mention the meanness of his lancuage, which would make 
a better book ridiculous. 

In 1698 a Latin translation of the Quran, made by 
Father Lewis Marracci, who had been confessor to Pope . 
Innocent XI., was published at Padua, together with the 
original text, accompanied by explanatory notes and a 
refutation. This translation of Marracci’s, generally 
speaking, is very exact; but adheres to the Arabic idiom 
too literally to be easily understood, unless I am much 
deceived, by those who are not versed in the Muhammadan 
learning.* The notes he has added are indeed of great 
use, but his refutations, which swell the work to a large 
volume, are of little or none at all, being often unsatis- 
factory, and sometimes impertinent. The work, however, 
with all its faults, is very valuable, and I should be guilty 
of ingratitude did I not acknowledge myself much obliged 
thereto; but still, being in Latin, it can be of no use to 
those he understand not that tongue. 

Having therefore undertaken a new translation, I have 
endeavoured to do the original impartial justice, not 
having, to the best of my knowledge, represented it, in any 
one instance, either better or worse than it really is. I 
have thought myself obliged, indeed, in a piece which 


* Of Marracci’s translation Savary says, “ Marracci, that learned 
monk, who spent forty years in translating and refuting the Koran, 
proceeded on the right system. He divided it into verses, according 
to the text ; but, neglecting the precepts of a great master— 


‘ Nec verbum verbo, curabis reddere, fidus 
Interpres,’ &¢.— 


he translated it literally. He has not expressed the ideas of the 
Koran, but travestied the words of it into barbarous Latin. Yet, 
though all the beauties of the original are lost in this translation, it 
is preferable to that by Du Ryer.” E. M. W. 


SALE’S PREFACE. 9 


pretends to be the Word of Gop, to keep somewhat 
scrupulously close to the text, by which means the lan- 
guage may, in some places, seem to express the Arabic 
a little too literally to be elegant English: but this, I 
hope, has not happened often; and I flatter myself that 
the style I have made use of will not only give a more 
genuine idea of the original than if I had taken more 
liberty (which would have been much more for my ease), 
but will soon become familiar; for we must not expect to 
read a version of so extraordinary a book with the same 
ease and pleasure as a modern composition. 

In the Notes my view has been briefly to explain the 
text, and especially the difficult and obscure passages, 
from the most approved commentators, and that generally 
in their own words, for whose opinions or expressions, 
where liable to censure, I am not answerable; my pro- 
vince being only fairly to represent their expositions, and 
the little I have added of my own, or from European 
writers, being easily discernible. Where I met with any 
circumstance which I imagined might be curious or enter- 
taining, I have not failed to produce it. 

The Preliminary Discourse will acquaint the reader 
with the most material particulars proper to be known 
previously to the entering on the Quran itself, and which 
could not so conveniently have been thrown into the 
Notes. And I have taken care, both in the Preliminary 
Discourse and the Notes, constantly to quote my autho- 
rities and the writers to whom I have been beholden; but 
to none have I been more so than to the learned Dr. 
Pocock, whose Specimen Historve Arabum is the most 
useful and accurate work that has been hitherto published 
concerning the antiquities of that nation, and ought to be 
read by every curious inquirer into them. 

As I have had no opportunity of consulting public 
libraries, the manuscripts of which I have made use 
throughout the whole work have been such as I had in my 
own study, except only the Commentary of Al Baidhawi 


IO SALE’S PREFACE. 


and the Gospel of St. Barnabas. The first belongs to the 
library of the Dutch Church in Austin Friars, and for the 
use of it I have been chiefly indebted to the Rev. Dr. 
Bolten, one of the ministers of that church: the other was 
very obligingly lent me by the Rev. Dr. Holme, Rector 
of Hedley in Hampshire; and I take this opportunity 
of returning both those gentlemen my thanks for their 
favours. The merit of Al Baidhawi’s commentary will 
appear from the frequent quotations I have made thence ; 
but of the Gospel of St. Barnabas (which I had not seen 
when the little I have said of it in the Preliminary Dis- 
course,! and the extract I had borrowed from M. de la 
Monnoye and M. Toland,? were printed off), I must beg 
leave to give some further account. 

The book is a moderate quarto, in Spanish, written in a 
very legible hand, but a little damaged towards the latter 
end. It contains two hundred and twenty-two chapters 
of unequal length, and four hundred and twenty pages; 
and is said, in the front, to be translated from the Italian 
by an Arragonian Muslim named Mustafa de Aranda. 
There is a preface prefixed to it, wherein the discoverer of 
the original MS., who was a Christian monk, called Fra 
Marino, tells us that having accidentally met with a 
writing of Ireneus (among others), wherein he speaks 
against St. Paul, alleging, for his authority, the Gospel of 
St. Barnabas, he became exceeding desirous to find this 
Gospel; and that Gop, of his mercy, having made him 
very intimate with Pope Sixtus V., one day, as they were 
together in that Pope’s library, his Holiness fell asleep, 
and he, to employ himself, reaching down a book to read, 
the first he laid his hand on proved to be the very Gospel 
he wanted: overjoyed at the discovery, he scrupled not to 
hide his prize in his sleeve, and on the Pope’s awaking, took 
leave of him, carrying with him that celestial treasure, by 
reading of which he became a convert to Muhammadism. 





tiSeGdv: pe 123% _ 2 In not. ad cap. 3. 


SALE’S PREFACE. eat 


This Gospel of Barnabas contains a complete history of 
Jesus Christ from his birth to his ascension; and most 
of the circumstances in the four real Gospels are to be 
found therein, but many of them turned, and some artfully 
enough, to favour the Muhammadan system. From the 
design of the whole, and the frequent interpolations of 
stories and passages wherein Muhammad is spoken of and 
foretold by name, as the messenger of God, and the great 
prophet who was to perfect the dispensation of Jesus, it 
appears to be a most barefaced forgery. One particular I 
observe therein induces me to believe it to have been 
dressed up by a renegade Christian, slightly instructed in 
his new religion, and not educated a Muhammadan (unless 
the fault be imputed to the Spanish, or perhaps the Italian 
translator, and not to the original compiler); I mean the 
ceiving to Muhammad the title of Messiah, and that not 
once or twice only, but in several places; whereas the title 
of the Messiah, or, as the Arabs write it, al Masth, 7e., 
Christ, is appropriated to Jesus in the Quran, and is con- 
stantly applied by the Muhammadans to him, and never 
to their own prophet. The passages produced from the 
Italian MS. by M. de la Monnoye are to be seen in this 
Spanish version almost word for word, 

But to return to the following work. Though I have 
freely censured the former translations of the Quran, I 
would not therefore be suspected of a design to make my 
own pass as free from faults: I am very sensible it is not; 
and I make no doubt that the few who are able to discern 
them, and know the difficulty of the undertaking, will 
sive me fair quarter. I likewise flatter myself that they, 
and all considerate persons, will excuse the delay which 
has happened in the publication of this work, when they 
are informed that it was carried on at leisure times only, 
and amidst the necessary avocations of a troublesome 
profession. 





SALES PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 





Se One l QuNge ly 


OF THE ARABS BEFORE MUHAMMAD; OR, AS THEY EXPRESS IT, IN 
THE TIME OF IGNORANCE 5; THEIR HISTORY,* RELIGION, LEARN- 
ING, AND CUSTOMS. 


Tue Arabs, and the country they inhabit, which them- tne name 
selves call Jazfrat al Arab, or the Peninsula of the “””™ 
Arabians, but we Arabia, were so named from Araba, a 

small territory in the province of Tahama;! to which 
Yarab the son of Qahtan, the father of the ancient Arabs, 

gave his name, and where, some ages after, dwelt Ismail 

the son of Abraham by Hagar. The Christian writers for 
several centuries speak of them under the appellation of 
Saracens, the most certain derivation of which word is 

from shark, the east, where the descendants of Joctan, the 


* Whilst regarding this Preliminary Discourse as a most masterly, 
and on the whole reliable, presentation of the peculiar doctrines, 
rites, ceremonies, customs, and institutions of Islam, we recognise 
the fact that more modern research has brought to ight many things 
concerning the history of the ancient Arabs which greatly modify 
the statements made in the early paragraphs of this chapter. We 
therefore refer the reader to the most valuable works of M. C. de 
Perceval, Hist. des Arabes, a masterly digest of which may be found 
in the Introduction to Muir’s Life of Mahomet, chap. iii. ; also to the 
works of Dr. Sprenger, Biography of the Prophet, &c. E, M. W. 


1 Pocock, Specim. Hist. Arab., p. 33. 


14 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. I. 


Qahtan of the Arabs, are placed by Moses,! and in which 
quarter they dwelt in respect to the Jews.? 

Limits of The name of Arabia (used in a more extensive sense) 

ane sometimes comprehends all that large tract of land bounded 
by the river Euphrates, the Persian Gulf, the Sindian, 
Indian, and Red Seas, and part of the Mediterranean : 
above two-thirds of which country, that is, Arabia properly 
so called, the Arabs have possessed almost from the Flood; 
and have made themselves masters of the rest, either by 
settlements or continual incursions; for which reason the 
Turks and Persians at this day call the whole Arabistan, 
or the country of the Arabs. 

But the limits of Arabia, in its more usual and proper 
sense, are much narrower, as reaching no farther north- 
ward than the Isthmus, which runs from Aila to the head 
of the Persian Gulf, and the borders of the territory of 
Kufa; which tract of land the Greeks nearly comprehended 
under the name of Arabia the Happy. The Eastern geo- 
oraphers make Arabia Petreea to belong partly to Egypt, 
and partly to Sham or Syria, and the Desert Arabia they 
call the Deserts of Syria.® 

Proper Arabia is by the Oriental writers generally 
divided into five provinces,* viz., Yaman, Hijaz, Tahama, 
Najd, and Yamama; to which some add Bahrain, as a 
sixth, but this province the more exact make part of Irak ;° 
others reduce them all to two, Yaman and Hijaz, the last 
including the three other provinces of Tahama, Najd, and 
Yamama. 

The pro- The province of Yaman, so called either from its situa- 
man, aon te the right hand, or south of the temple of Makkah, 
or else from the happiness and verdure of its soil, extends 
itself along the Indian Ocean from Aden to Cape Rasalgat ; 
part of the Red Sea bounds it on the west and south sides, 


1 Gen.;x. 30. in his time divided into five king- 
2 See Pocock, Specim., 33, 34. doms, |. 16, p. 1129. 
3 Golius ad Alfragan, 78, 79. ° Gol. ad Alfragan, 79. 


* Strabo says Arabia Felix was 


SEC.1.] | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. er 


and the province of Hijaz on the north.! It is subdivided 
into several lesser provinces, as Hadramaut, Shihr, Oman, 
Najran, &c., of which Shihr alone produces the frankin- 
cense.2, The metropolis of Yaman is Sanaa, a very ancient 
city, in former times called Ozal,* and much celebrated for 
its delightful situation; but the prince at present resides 
about five leagues northward from thence, at a place no 
less pleasant, called Hisn al Mawahib, or the Castle of 
Delights. 
This country has been famous from all antiquity for the. 
happiness of its climate, its fertility and riches,t which 
induced Alexander the Great, after his return from his 
Indian expedition, to form a design of conquering it, and 
fixing there his royal seat; but his death, which happened 
soon after, prevented the execution of this project.2 Yet, 
in reality, great part of the riches which the ancients ima- 
eined were the produce of Arabia, came really from the go-caltea 


Indies and the coasts of Africa; for the Egyptians, who prince 


had engrossed that trade, which was then carried on by fom india. 
way of the Red Sea, to themselves, industriously con- 
cealed the truth of the matter, and kept their ports shut 
to prevent foreigners penetrating into those countries, or 
recelving any information thence; and this precaution 
of theirs on the one side, and the deserts, unpassable to 
strangers, on the other, were the reason why Arabia was 
so little. known to the Greeks and Romans. The delight- 
fulness and plenty of Yaman are owing to its mountains; 
for all that part which lies along the Red Sea is a dry, 
barren desert, in some places ten or twelve leagues over, 
but in return bounded by those mountains, which being 


* “Or this was the name of its builder; see Kamoos” (Lane). 
E, M. W. 


1 La Roque, Voyage de lArab. 4 Vide Dionys. Perieges., v. 927, 
Heur., 121. &e. 

2 Gol. ad Alfragan, 79, 87. > Strabo, 1. 16, p. 1132; Arrian, 

3 Voyage de l’Arab. Heur., 232. ‘161. 


Produce of 
Yaman,. 


The Hijaz— 
its bounda- 
ries. 


Makkah 
described. 


16 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SECU 


well watered, enjoy an almost continual spring, and, be- 
sides coffee, the peculiar produce of this country, yield 
ereat plenty and variety of fruits, and in particular excel- 
lent corn, grapes, and spices. There are no rivers of note 
in this country, for the streams which at certain times of 
the year descend from the mountains, seldom reach the 
sea, being for the most part drunk up and lost in the 
burning sands of that coast.t 

The soil of the other provinces is much more barren 
than that of Yaman; the greater part of their territories. 
being covered with dry sands, or rising into rocks, inter- 
spersed here and there with some fruitful spots, which 
receive their greatest advantages from their water and 
palm-trees. 

The province of Hijaz, so named because it divides 
Najd from Tahama,is bounded on the south by Yaman 
and Tahama, on the west by the Red Sea, on the north by 
the deserts of Syria, and on the east by the province of 
Najd.? This province is famous for its two chief cities, 
Makkah and Madina, one of which is celebrated for its 
temple, and for having given birth to Muhammad; and 
the other for being the place of his residence for the last 
ten years of his life, and of his interment. 

Makkah, sometimes also called Bakkah, which words 
are synonymous, and signify a place of great concourse, is 
certainly one of the most ancient cities of the world: it 
is by some? thought to be the Mesa of the Scripture,‘ a 
name not unknown to the Arabians, and supposed to be 
taken from one of Ismail’s sons.> It is seated in a stony 
and barren valley, surrounded on all sides with mountains. 
The length of Makkah from south to north is about two 
miles, and its breadth from the foot of the mountain 


1 Voyage de l’Arab. Heur., 121, Sp Genex.60. 


123, 153. > Gol. ad Alfrag., 82 ; see Gen. 
2 Vide Gol. ad Alfrag.,98; Abul- xxv. 15. 
feda, Descr. Arab., p. 5. § Gol., ib. 198. See Pitts’ Account 


3 R. Saadias in version. Arab. of the Religion and Manners of the 
Pentat. Sefer Juchasin., 135 b. Muhammadang, p. 96. 


SECT. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. | 17 


Ajyad, to the top of another called Koaikadn, about a 
mile! In the midst of this space stands the city, built 
of stone cut from the neighbouring mountains.? There 
being no springs at Makkah,’ at least none but what are 
bitter and unfit to drink,‘ except only the well Zamzam, 
the water of which, though far the best, yet cannot be 
drank of any continuance, being brackish,* and causing 
eruptions in those who drink plentifully of it,° the in- 
habitants are obliged to use rain-water, which they catch 
in cisterns.® But this not being sufficient, several 
attempts were made to bring water thither from other 
places by aqueducts; and particularly about Muham- 
mad’s time, Zubair, one of the principal men of the tribe 
of Quraish, endeavoured, at a great expense, to supply 
the city with water from Mount Arafat, but without 
success; yet this was effected not many years ago, being 
begun at the charge of a wife of Sulaiman the Turkish 
emperor.’ But long before this another aqueduct had 
been made from a spring at a considerable distance, 
which was, after several years’ labour, finished by the 
Khalifah al Muktadir.® 

The soil about Makkah is so very barren as to produce 
no fruits but what are common in the deserts, though the 
prince or Sharif has a garden well planted at his castle 





* Lane adds the following note :—“ Sale here adds ‘ being brackish,’ 
but Burckhardt says the water of the Zemzem ‘is heavy to the taste, 
and sometimes in its colour resembles milk; but,’ he adds, ‘it is 
perfectly sweet, and differs very much from that of the brackish wells 
dispersed over the town. When first drawn up, it is slightly tepid, 
resembling in this respect many other fountains of the Hejdz.’— 
Travels in Aralia, p. 144. I have also drunk the water of Zemzem 
brought in a china bottle to Cairo, and found it perfectly sweet.” 

E, M, W. 


1 Sharif al Edrisi apud Poe. > Ibid. and Pitts, ubi supra, p. 
Spec. p. 122. 1O7. 
2 Thid. 6 Gol. ad Alfragan, 99. 
3 Gol. ad Alfragan, 99. ; 7 Thid. 
4 Sharif al Edrisi, ubi supra, 124. 8 Sharif al Edrisi, ubi supra. 
B 


How the 
people of 
Makkah 

subsist. 


Madina or 
Yathrab. 


18 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  [sEC.1. 


of Marbaa, about three miles westward from the city, 
where he usually resides. Having therefore no corn or 
orain of their own growth, they are obliged to fetch it 
from other places;! and Hasham, Muhammad's great- 
erandfather, then prince of his tribe, the more effectually 
to supply them with provisions, appointed two caravans 
to set out yearly for that purpose, the one in summer, | 
and the other in winter:? these caravans of purveyors 
are mentioned in the Quran. The provisions brought by 
them were distributed also twice a year, viz., in the month 
of Rajab, and at the arrival of the pilgrims. They are 
supplied with dates in great plenty from the adjacent 
country, and with grapes from Tayif, about sixty miles * 
distant, very few growing at Makkah. The inhabitants of 
this city are generally very rich, being considerable gainers 
by the prodigious concourse of people of almost all nations 
at the yearly pilgrimage, at which time there is a great 
fair or mart for all kinds of merchandise. They have 
also great nunibers of cattle, and particularly of camels: 
however, the poorer sort cannot but live very indifferently 
in a place where almost every necessary of life must be 
purchased with money. Notwithstanding this great steri- 
lity near Makkah, yet you are no sooner out of its territory 
than you meet on all sides with plenty of good springs 
and streams of running water, with a great many gardens 
and cultivated lands.? 

The temple of Makkah, and the reputed holiness of this 
territory, will be treated of in a more proper place. ° 

Madina, which till Muhammad’s retreat thither was 
called Yathrab, is a walled city about half as big as 
Makkah,‘ built in a plain, salt in many places, yet tolerably 
fruitful, particularly in dates, but more especially near 








* Burckhardt says seventy-two miles, Travels in Arabia, p, 69. 
HK. M. W. 





1 Sharif al Edrisi, ubi supra. 3 Sharif al Edrisi, ubi supra, 125. 
Poe. Spec., p. 51. 4 Id. Vulgd Geogr, Nubiensis, 5. 


SEC. I. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 


19 


the mountains, two of which, Ohod on the north, and Air ‘ 
on the south, are about two leagues distant. Here lies 
Muhammad interred? in a magnificent building, covered 
with a cupola, and adjoining to the east side of the great 
temple, which is built in the midst of the city.” 

The province of Tahama was so named from the vehe- the pro- 


vinces of 


ment heat of its sandy soil, and is also called Gaur from Tanama, 
its low situation; it is bounded on the west by the Red yasdua 
Sea, and on the athorsides by Hijaz and Yaman, extending *“"*** 
almost from Makkah to Aden.? 

The province of Najd, which word signifies a rising 
country, lies between those of Yamdama, Yaman, and 
Hijaz, and is bounded on the east by Irak.4 

The province of Yamama, also called Arid from its 
oblique situation, in respect of Yaman, is surrounded by: 
the provinces of Najd, Tahama, Bahrain, Oman, Shihr, 
Hadramaut, and Saba. The chief city is Yamama, which 
gives name to the province: it was anciently called Jaw, 
and is particularly famous for being the residence of 


Muhammad’s competitor, the false prophet Musailama.® 
The Arabians, the inhabitants of this spacious country, 


1 Though the notion of Muham- 
mad’s being buried at Makkah has 
been so long exploded, yet several 
modern writers, whether through 
ionorance or negligence I will not 
determine, have fallen into it. I 
shall here take notice only of two ; 
one is Dr. Smith, who having lived 
some time in Turkey, seems to be 
inexcusable: that gentleman in his 
Epistles De Moribus ac Institutis 
Turcarum, no less than thrice men- 
tions the Muhammadans visiting 
the tomb of their prophet at Makkah, 
and once his being born at Madina 
—the reverse of which is true (see 
Epist. 1, p. 22, Epist. 2, pp. 63, 64). 
The other is the publisher of the 
last edition of Sir J. Mandeville’s 
Travels, who on his author’s saying 
very truly (p. 50) that the said tomb 
was at Methone, ¢.e., Madina, under- 
takes to correct the name of the 


town, which is something corrupted, 
by putting at the bottom of the 
page, Makkah. The Abbot de Ver- 
tot, in his History of the Order of 
Malta (vol. i. p. 410, ed. 8vo), 
seems also to have confounded 
these two cities together, though he 
had before mentioned Muhammad’s 
sepulchre at Madina. However, he 
is certainly mistaken, when he says 
that one point of the religion, both 
of the Christians and Muhamma- 
dans, was to visit, at least once in 
their lives, the tomb of the author 
of their respective faith. Whatever 
may be the opinion of some Chris- 
tians, I am well assured the Muham- 
madans think themselves under no 
manner of obligation in that respect. 

2 Gol. ad Alfragan, 97 ; Abulfeda, 
Descr. Arab., p. 40. 

3 Gor, abi supra, 95. 
Y Ibid., 94. ec Tbid. 5052 


20 _ THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. I. 


Two classes which they have possessed from the most remote antiquity, 

of Arabians. - - : : : 5 
are distinguished by their own writers into two classes, 
viz., the old lost Arabians, and the present. 

The former were very numerous, and divided into 
several tribes, which are now all destroyed, or else lost 
and swallowed up among the other tribes, nor are any 
certain memoirs or records extant concerning them;+ 
though the memory of some very remarkable events and 
the catastrophe of some tribes have been preserved by 
tradition, and since confirmed by the authority of the 
(Quran, 

The ancient The most famous tribes amongst these ancient Arabians 

ao were Ad, Thamud, Tasm, Jadis, the former Jorham, and 
Amalek. 

The Adites. The tribe of Ad were descended from Ad, the son of 
Aws,? the son of Aram,* the son of Sem, the son of Noah,* 
who, after the confusion of tongues, settled in al Ahqaf, or 
the winding sands in the province of Hadramaut, where 
his posterity greatly multiplied. Their first king was 
Shadad the son of Ad, of whom the Eastern writers deliver 
many fabulous things, particularly that he finished the 
magnificent city his father had begun, wherein he built a 
fine palace, adorned with delicious gardens, to embellish 
which he spared neither cost nor labour, proposing thereby 
to create in his subjects a superstitious veneration of him- 
self as a god. This garden or paradise was called the 

eats carden of Iram, and is mentioned in the Quran,’ and often 

‘alluded to by the Oriental writers. The city, they tell us, 
is still standing in the deserts of Aden, being preserved 





* This genealogy is given on the authority of Muslim tradition, 
or rather of Muslim adaptation of Jewish tradition to gratify Arab 
pride. As to its utter worthlessness, see note on p. 24. E. M. W. 





1 Albufarag, p. 159. son of Ham; but the other is the 
2 Or zn Gren. 622.23. received opinion. See D’Herbel., 51. 
3 Vide Quran, c. 89, v. 6. Some 4 Vide Eund., 498. 

make Ad the son of Amalek, the  % Cap. 89. i 


SEC. | THis PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE: Zn 


by Providence as a monument of divine justice, though it 
be invisible, unless very rarely, when Gop permits it to be 
seen, a favour one Colabah pretended to have received in 
the reign of the Khalifah Muawiyah, who sending for him 
to know the truth of the matter, Colabah related his whole 
adventure : that as he was seeking a camel he had lost, 
he found himself on a sudden at the gates of this city, and 
entering it, saw not one inhabitant, at which, being terri- 
fied, he stayed no longer than to take with him some fine 
stones which he showed the Khalifah.! * 

The descendants of Ad in process of time falling from Destruction 
the worship of the true Gop into idolatry, Gop sent the Suites 
prophet Hud (who is generally agreed to be Heber?t) to 
preach toand reclaim them. But they refusing to acknow- 
ledge his mission, or to obey him, Gop sent a hot and 
suffocating wind, which blew seven nights and eight days 
together, and entering at their nostrils passed through 
their bodies,? and destroyed them all, a very few only 
excepted, who had believed in Hud and retired with him 
to another place.t That prophet afterwards returned into 
Hadramaut, and was buried near Hasiq, where there is a 
small town now standing called Qabr Hud, or the sepul- 
chre of Hud. Before the Adites were thus severely 
punished, Gop, to humble them and incline them to 
hearken to the preaching of his prophet, afflicted them 
with a drought for four years, so that all their cattle 





* Fora full account of his adventure, see Lane’s translation of the 
Thousand and One Nights, BE. M. W. 

+ I can find no authority for this “ general belief,’ excepting that 
of Muslim conjecture. The guesses of D’Herbelot and Bochart seem 
to be inspired by Muslim tradition, which has been shown to be for 
the most part, so far as genealogy is concerned, a forgery. Muir 
suggests that Hud may have been a Jewish emissary or Christian 





evangelist. Life of Mohamet, Introd., p. 139. E, M. W. 
1 D’Herbel., 51. to have been a great prophet. Seder 
2 The Jews acknowledge Heber Olam., p. 2. 3 Al Baidhawi. 


4 Foc. Spec. p. 35, cc. 


The latter 
Adites. 


The tribe of 
Thamud. 


Destruction 
of the Tha- 
mudites. 


22 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. {I 


perished, and themselves were very near it; upon which 
they sent Luqman (different from one of the same name 
who lived in David’s time) with sixty others to Makkah 
to beg rain, which they not obtaining, Luqman with some 
of a company | stayed at Makkah, nn thereby escaped 
destruction, giving rise to a tribe called the latter Ad, 
who were afterward changed into monkeys.! 

Some commentators on the Quran? tell us these old 
Adites were of prodigious stature, the largest being 100 
cubits high, and the least 60; which extraordinary size 
they pretend to prove by the testimony of the Quran. 

The tribe of Thamud were the posterity of Thamud the 
son of Jathar * the son of Aram, who falling into idolatry, 
the prophet Salih was sent to bring them back to the 
worship of the true Gop. This prophet lived between the 
time of Hud and of Abraham, and therefore cannot be the 
same with the patriarch Salih, as M. d’Herbelot imagines.? 
The learned Bochart with more probability takes him to 
be Phaleg.6 A small number of the people of Thamud 
hearkened to the remonstrances of Salih, but the rest 
requiring, as a proof of his mission, that he should cause a 
she-camel big with young to come out of a rock in their 
presence, he accordingly obtained it of Gop, and the camel 
was immediately delivered of a young one ready weaned; 
but they, instead of believing, cut the hamstrings of the 
camel and killed her; at which act of impiety Gop, being 
highly displeased, three days after struck them dead in 
their houses by an earthquake and a terrible noise from 
heaven, which, some’ say, was the voice of Gabriel the 
archangel crying aloud, “ Die, all of you.” Salih, with 
those who were reformed by him, were saved from this 
destruction; the prophet going into Palestine, and from 
thence to Makkah,° where he ended his days, 


: Poc. Spec., p. 36. 5 D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., 740. 
J aldluddin et Zamakhshari. 6 Bochart, Georg. Sac 
> Quran, c. 7, v. 70. 7 See D’Herbel., 366. 


* Or Gether, vide Gen. x. 23. 8 Ibn Shohnah. 


SEC. I.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 24 


This tribe first dwelt in Yaman, but being expelled 
thence by Himyar the son of Saba, they settled in the 
territory of Hajr in the province of Hijaz, where their 
habitations cut out of the rocks, mentioned in the Quran, 
are still to be seen, and also the crack of the rock whence 
the camel issued, which, as an eyewitness ® hath declared, 
is sixty cubits wide. These houses of the Thamudites being 
of the ordinary proportion, are used as an argument to 
convince those of a mistake who make this people to have 
been of a gigantic stature.* 

The tragical destructions of these two potent tribes are 
often insisted on in the Quran as instances of Gop’s judg- 
ment on obstinate unbelievers. 

The tribe of Tasm were the posterity of Lud the son 
of Sem, and Jadis of the descendants of Jathar.6 These 
two tribes dwelt promiscuously together under the govern- 
ment of Tasm, till a certain tyrant made a law that no 
maid of the tribe of Jadis should marry unless first de- 
flowered by him; °® which the Jadisians not enduring, formed 
a conspiracy, and inviting the king and chiefs of Tasm to 
an entertainment, privately hid their swords in the sand, 
and in the midst of their mirth fell on them and slew 
them all, and extirpated the greatest part of that tribe; 
however, the few who escaped obtaining aid of the king 
of Yaman, then (as is said) Dhu Habshan Ibn Aqran,’ 
assaulted the Jadis and utterly destroyed them, there being 
scarce any mention made from that time of either of these 
tribes.® 

The former tribe of Jorham (whose ancestor some pre- 
tend was one of the eight persons saved in the ark with 
Noah, according to a Muhammadan tradition ®) was con- 


1 Poc. Spec., p. 57. called ‘ culliage,” or “ cullage,” 
2 Quran, c. 15, v. $2. having been established by K. Ewen, 
3 Abu Musa al Ashari. and abolished by Malcolm IIT. See 
4 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 37. Bayle’s Dict. Art. Sixte IV. Rem. 
5 Abulfeda. H. 
6 A like custom is said to have 7 Poc. Spec. p. 60. 

been in some manors in England, 8 Thid., p. 37, &c. 


and also in Scotland, where it was Pr ibids p. 38. 


Rock-cut 
houses of 
the Thamt- 
dites. 


The tribe of 
Tasm. 


The Jor- 
hamites, 


The Amale- 
kites con- 
quer Lower 
Egypt. 


Origin of 
the present 
Arabs, 


24 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. I. 


temporary with Ad, and utterly perished! The tribe of 
Amalek were descended from Amalek the son of Eliphaz 
the son of Esau,? though some of the Oriental authors say 
Amalek was the son of Ham the son of Noah,’ and others 
the son of Azd the son of Sem.* The posterity of this 
person rendered themselves very powerful, and before the 
time of Joseph conquered the Lower Egypt under their 
king Walid, the first who took the name of Pharaoh, as 
the Eastern writers tell us ;° seeming by these Amalekites 
to mean the same people which the Egyptian histories call 
Pheenician shepherds.’ But after they had possessed the 
throne of Egypt for some descents, they were expelled 
by the natives, and at length totally destroyed by the 
Israelites.® 

The present Arabians, according to their own historians, 
are sprung from two stocks, Qahtan,* the same with 
Joctan the son of Eber,? and Adnan, descended in a direct 
line from Ismail the son of Abraham and Hagar; the 
posterity of the former they call al Arab al Ariba® iie., 
the genuine or pure Arabs, and those of the latter al Arab 
al Mustariba, 2.¢., naturalised or insititious Arabs, though 


* Muir, in his Life of Mahomet (Introd., p. cl.), proves con- 
clusively that this identification of the Arab Qaht4n with the 
Joctan of Scripture is an extravagant fiction, and shows that the 
age of Qahtén must be fixed at a period somewhere between 800 
and 500 B.c. He says: “The identification (alluded to above) is 
one of those extravagant fictions which the followers of Isldm, in 
their zeal to accommodate Arab legend to Jewish scripture, has made 
in defiance of the most violent improbability, and the grossest 





anachronisms.” E. M. W. 
1 Tbn Shohnah. ® R. Saad. in vers. Arab. Pentat. 
2° Gen. xxxvi. 12. Gen. x. 25. Some writers make 
3 Vide D’Herbelot, p. 110. Qahtan a descendant of Ismail, but 
4 Tbn Shohnah. against the current of Oriental his- 
> Vide Numb. xxiv. 20. torians. See Poc. Spec., p. 39. 
6 Mirat Caindt. 10 An expression something like 


7 Vide Joseph. cont. Apion., 1.i. that of St. Paul, who calls himself 
8 Vide Exod. xvii. 18, &.; 1 “an Hebrew of the Hebrews” 
Sam. xv. 2, &c.3 ibid,, xxvii. 8,9; (Phil. iii. 5). 
1 Chron. iv. 43. 


SEC. I.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 25 


some reckon the ancient lost tribes to have been the only 
pure Arabians, and therefore call the posterity of Qahtan 
also Mutariba, which word likewise signifies insititious 
Arabs, though in a nearer degree than Mustariba, the 
descendants of Ismail being the more distant graff. 


The posterity of Ismail have no claim to be admitted Their pos- 
: 5 arate terity have 
as pure Arabs, their ancestor being by origin and language no claim to 
: : : be 
an Hebrew; but having made an alliance with the Jor- Araps. 


hamites, by marrying a daughter of Mudad, and accus- 
tomed himself to their manner of living and language, his 
descendants became blended with them into one nation. 
The uncertainty of the descents between Ismail and 
Adnan is the reason why they seldom trace their genea- 
logies higher than the latter, whom they acknowledge as 
father of their tribes, the descents from him downwards 
being pretty certain and uncontroverted.! * 

The genealogy of these tribes being of great use to 
illustrate the Arabian history, I have taken the pains to 


* On this subject we give the following extract from Muir’s Life 
of Mahomet, vol. i. p. evil. :— 

“The first peopling of Arabia is a subject on which we may in 
vain look for any light from the traditions of Arabia itself. Tradi- 
tion, indeed, gives us the genealogies of the Himydr kings and the 
links of the great Coreishite line of descent. But the latter do not 
ascend much beyond the Christian era, and the former only five or 
six centuries further ; the earlier names of the Himyar dynasty were 
probably derived from bare inscriptions ; and of the Coreish we have 
hardly anything but a naked ancestral tree, till within two or three 
centuries of Mahomet. 

“ Beyond these periods Mahometan tradition is entirely worthless. 
It is not original, but taken at second hand from the Jews, Mahomet 
having claimed to be of the seed of Ishmael. The Jewish Rabbins 
who were gained over to his cause endeavoured to confirm the claim 
from the genealogies of the Old Testament and of Rabbinical tra- 
ditions.” Muir’s Introduction to his Life of Mahomet is the standard 
work, in the English language, on all that pertains to early Arabian 
history. E. M. W. 








1 Poc. Spec., p. 40. 


The 
Cushites. 


The Himyar 
princes of 
Yaman. 


The inunda- 
tion of 
Aram. 


26 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. (SEC. 4. 


form a genealogical table from their most approved authors, 
to which I refer the curious, 

Besides these tribes of Arabs mentioned by their own 
authors, who were all descended from the race of Sem, 
others of them were the posterity of Ham by his son 
Cush, which name is in Scripture constantly given to the 
Arabs and their country, though our version renders it 
Ethiopia; but, strictly speaking, the Cushites did not 
inhabit Arabia properly so called, but the banks of the 
Euphrates and the Persian Gulf, whither they came from 
Chuzestan or Susiana, the original settlement of their 
father. They might probably mix themselves in process 
of time with the Arabs of the other race, but the Eastern 
writers take little or no notice of them. 

The Arabians were for some centuries under the govern- 
ment of the descendants of Qahtan; Ydrab, one of his 
sons, founding the kingdom of Yaman, and Jorham, 
another of them, that of Hijaz. 

The province of Yaman, or the better part of it, par- 
ticularly the provinces of Saba and Hadramaut, was 
governed by princes of the tribe of Himyar, though at 
length the kingdom was translated to the descendants of 
Qahlan, his brother, who yet retained the title of King of 
Himyar, and had all of them the general title of Tubba, 
which signifies successor, and was affected to this race of 
princes as that of Czesar was to the Roman emperors, and 
Khalifah to the successors of Muhammad. There were 
several lesser princes who reigned in other parts of Yaman, 
and were mostly, if not altogether, subject to the king of 
Himyar, whom they called the great king, but of these 
history has recorded nothing remarkable or that may be 
depended upon.? 

The first great calamity that befell the tribes settled in 
Yaman was the inundation of Aram, which happened soon 
after the time of Alexander the Great, and is famous in 


1 Vide Hyde, Hist. Rel. vet. Pers., p. 37, &c. 
2 Poe. Spec., pp. 65, 66. 


SEC.1.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 27 


= 


the Arabian history.* No less than eight tribes were 
forced to abandon their dwellings upon this occasion, some 
of which gave rise to the two kingdoms of Ghassan and 
Hira. And this was probably the time of the migration 
of those tribes or colonies which were led into Mesopo- 
tamia by three chiefs, Baqr, Mudar, and Rabia, from whom 
the three provinces of that country are still named Diyar 
Bagqr, Diyar Mudar, and Diyar Rabia.!’ Abd-as-Shams, sur- 
named Saba, having built the city from him called Saba, 
and afterwards Marib, made a vast mound, or dam,? to 
serve as a basin or reservoir to receive the water which 
came down from the mountains, not only for the use of 
the inhabitants, and watering their lands, but also to 
keep the country they had subjected in greater awe by 
being masters of the water. This building stood like a 
mountain above their city, and was by them esteemed so 
strong that they were in no apprehension of its ever 
failing. The water rose to the height of almost twenty 
fathoms, and was kept in on every side by a work so solid, 
that many of the inhabitants had their houses built upon 
it. Every family had a certain portion of this water, 
distributed by aqueducts. But at length Gop, being 
highly displeased at their great pride and insolence, and 
resolving to humble and disperse them,- sent a mighty 
flood, which broke down the mound by night while the 
inhabitants were asleep, and carried away the whole city, 
with the neighbouring towns and people.® 





* This event did not occur till about the beginning of the second 
century of the Christian era. See Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. i., 
Introd., p. clvii., and authorities cited there. E.°M. W. 

+ This immigration was probably due chiefly to “the drying up of 
the Yemen commerce, and stoppage of the carrying trade,” owing 
to the Romans having opened up commercial intercourse between 
India and Egypt by way of the Red Sea. Muir’s Introd., Life of 
Mahomet, p. cxxxvii. E, M. W. 


1 Vide Gol. ad Alfrag., p. 232. 4*Pog Spec.; p./57- 
3 Geogr. Nubiens, p. 52. 


Ethiopian 


conquest of 


Yaman. 


Persian 
supremacy 


established. 


The king- 
dom of 
Ghassan. 
founded. 


ih 


28 . THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. (SECs 


The tribes which remained in Yaman after this terrible 
devastation still continued under the obedience of the 
former princes, till about seventy years before Muham- 
mad, when the king of Ethiopia sent over forces to assist 
the Christians of Yaman against the cruel persecution of 
their king, Dhu Nuwas, a bigoted Jew, whom they drove 
to that extremity that he forced his horse into the sea, 
and so lost his life and crown,! after which the country 
was governed by four Ethiopian princes successively, till 
Salif, the son of Dhu Yazan, of the tribe of Himyar, 
obtaining succours from Khusri Anushirwdn, king of 
Persia, which had been denied him by the emperor 
Heraclius, recovered the throne and drove out the 
Ethiopians, but was himself slain by some of them 
who were left behind. The Persians appointed the 
succeeding princes till Yaman fell into the hands of 
Muhammad, to whom Bazan, or rather Badhén, the last 
of them, submitted, and embraced this new religion? 

This kingdom of the Himyarites is said to have lasted 
2020 years,? or, as others say, above 3000,‘ the length of 
the reign of each prince being very uncertain. 

It has been already observed that two kingdoms were 
founded by those who left their country on occasion of 
the inundation of Aram: they were both out of the proper 
limits of Arabia. One of them was the kingdom of 
Ghassan. The founders of this kingdom were of the 
tribe of Azd, who, settling in Syria Damascena near a 
water called Ghassan, thence took their name, and drove 
out the Dajaamian Arabs of the tribe of Salih, who before 
possessed the country;> where they, maintained their 
kingdom 400 years, as others say 600, or, as Abulfeda 
more exactly computes, 616. Five of these princes were 
named Harith, which the Greeks write Aretas: and one 


1 See Prideaux’s Life of Maho- 4 Al Jannabi and Ahmed Ibn 
met, p. 61. Yusef. 

2 Poc. Spec., pp. 63, 64. 5 Poe) Speci p.-70. 

3 Abulfeda, 


SEC. 1.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 29 


-_ 


of them it was whose governor ordered the gates of 
Damascus to be watched to take St. Paul! This tribe 
were Christians,* their last king being Jabalah the son 
of al Ayham, who, on the Arabs’ successes in Syria 
professed Muhammadism under the Khalifah Omar; but 
receiving a disgust from him, returned to his former faith, 
and retired to Constantinople.” 

The other kingdom was that of Hira, which was founded The king- 
by Malik, of the descendants of Qahlan? in Chaldea or iA 
Trak ; but after three descents the throne came by marriage 
to the Lakhmians, called also the Mundars (the general 
name of those princes), who preserved their dominion, not- 
withstanding some small interruption by the Persians, till 
the Khalifat of Abu Baqr, when al Mundar al Maghrur, 
the last of them, lost his life and crown by the arms of 
Khalid Ibn al Walid. This kingdom lasted 622 years 
eight months.* Its princes were under the protection of 
the kings of Persia, whose lieutenants they were over the 
Arabs of Irak, as the kings of Ghassan were for the Roman 
emperors over those of Syria.° 

Jorham the son of Qahtan reigned in Hijaz, where his Jorhamites 
posterity kept the throne till the time of Ismail; but on™ en 
his marrying the daughter of Mudad, by whom he had 
twelve sons, Qidar, one of them, had the crown resigned 
to him by his uncles the Jorhamites,® though others say 
the descendants of Ismail expelled that ae who retir- They are ex- 

ing to Johainah, were, after various fortune, at last all Pnalees 
destroyed by an inundation.’ eae 


* This was true only of the last kings of the tribe, the conversion 
haying probably taken place through political influence about the 
middle of the fourth century of our era. Muiz’s Introd., Life of 


Mahomet, p. clxxxv. E. M. W. 
Sea Wor. XI, 3213 ACte 1x.12d- > Ibid. and Procop. in Pers. apud 
2 Vide Ockley’s History of, the BONG) p. 71, &e. 

Saracens, vol. i. p. 174. 6 Poc, Spec., p. 45. 
3 Poc. Spec., p. 66. tJ bid:3p..79.: 


' 4 Tbid., p. 74. 


30 . THE PRELIMINARY DISCOUKSE. [SEC. I. 


Of the kings of Himyar, Hira, Ghassan, and Jorham, 
Dr. Pocock has given us catalogues tolerably exact, to 

which I refer the curious. 
_ ‘The Phylar- After the expulsion of the Jorhamites, the government 
“ment ofthe of Hijaz seems not to have continued for many centuries 
tye in the hands of one prince, but to have been divided 
among the heads of tribes, almost in the same manner as 
the Arabs of the desert are governed at this day. At 


Makkah an aristocracy prevailed, where the chief manage- 


ment of affairs till the time of Muhammad was in the: 


tribe of Quraish, especially after they had gotten the 
custody of the Kaabah from the tribe of Khuzaah.? 
Besides the kingdoms which have been taken notice of, 
there were some other tribes which in latter times had 
princes of their own, and formed states of lesser note, 
particularly the tribe of Kinda;? but as I am not writing 
a just history of the Arabs, and an account of them would 
be of no great use to my present purpose, I shall waive 
any further mention of them. 
The govern. After the time of Muhammad, Arabia was for about 


ment of Ai“ three centuries under thé Khalifahs his successors. Butin 


time of Mu- the year 325 of the Hijra, great part of that country was 
in the hands of the Karmatians,* a new sect who had 
committed great outrages and disorders even in Makkah, 
and to whom the Khalifahs were obliged to pay tribute, that 
the pilgrimage thither might be performed: of this sect I 
may have occasion to speak in another place. Afterwards 
Yaman was governed by the house of Thabatiba, descended 
from Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad, whose sovereignty 
in Arabia some place so high as the time of Charlemagne. 
However, it was the posterity of Ali, or pretenders to be 
such, who reigned in Yaman and Egypt so early as the 
tenth century. The present reigning family in Yaman is 
probably that of Ayub, a branch of which reigned there in 





1 Poc. Spec., p. 55 seq. 3 Vide Poe. Spec., p. 79, &e. 
2 Vide ibid., p. 41, and Prideaux’s 4 Vide Elmacin. in Vita al Radi. 
Life of Mahomet, p. 2. 


a 


sEc.L] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 31 


the thirteenth century, and took the title of Khalffah and 
Imam, which they still retain! * They are not possessed 
of the whole province of Yaman,? there being several other 
independent kingdoms there, particularly that of Fartakh. 
The crown of Yaman descends not regularly from father 
to son, but the prince of the blood royal who is most in 
favour with the great ones, or has the strongest interest, 
generally succeeds.* 

The governors of Makkah and Madina, who have always the gover- 
been of the race of Muhammad, also threw off their sub- Macbehand 
jection to the Khalffahs, since which time four principal dveniens, 
families, all descended from Hassan the son of Ali, have 
reigned there under the title of Sharif, which signifies 
noble, as they reckon themselves to be on account of their 
descent. These are Banu Qadir, Banu Musa Thani, Banu 
Hasham, and Banu Kitada;* which last family now is, 
or lately was, in the throne of Makkah, where they have 
reigned above 500 years.— The reigning family at Madina 


* There is no one family now ruling over the whole of Yaman. At 
present the Turks have at least nominal dominion in the northern - 
part to about 17° 30’ north latitude. In Southern Yaman there is no 
paramount sovereign, the Zéidi family having been deposed from the 
throne of Sanda some years ago. The Sult4n of Géara, in Lower 
Jafid, who is recognised as a sort of hierarch in those regions, exer- 
cises considerable authority under the title of Afifi. He is said 
to pronounce judgment by fire ordeals. His principal rival is the 
Sultan of Madar, in the district of Abian, but he has thus far been 
able to maintain his position as the most respected judge in Southern 
Yaman. . In addition to these there is the so-called six-finger dynasty 
(said to have twelve fingers and twelve toes) of the Osmant rulers in 
the region near Aden, who are subsidised by the English. These 
are also rivals of the Afift. E. M. W. 

+ The present Grand Sharif of Makkah is Abdal Muttalib, who 
was deposed in 1858 by the Sultan of Turkey, and kept at Constan- 
tinople as a state prisoner for more than twenty years. His successor 
in office was assassinated at Jidda in 1880 by a fanatic, because, as 





Se, 


1 Voyage de l’Arab. Heur., p. 255. 3 Thid., p. 254. 
4° Lbid.) pp. 153.273) 4 ibid, p. 143. 


The rulers of 
Yaman inde- 
pendent, 


32 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. I. 


are the Banu Hasham, who also reigned at Makkah before 
those of Kitada.? 

The kings of Yaman, as well as the princes of Makkah 
and Madina, are absolutely independent? and not at all 
subject to the Turk, as some late authors have imagined. * 
These princes often making cruel wars among themselves, 
gave an opportunity to Selim I. and his son Sulaiman, to 
make themselves masters of the coasts of Arabia on the 
Red Sea, and of part of Yaman, by means of a fleet built 
at Sues: but their successors have not been able to main- 
tain their conquests; for, except the port of Jidda, where 





is believed by some, he refused to recognise the Sultén of Turkey as 
the Khalifah (caliph or vicegerent of Muhammad). Strange to say, 
the Sultan reinstated the exiled Grand Sharif. He is said to be a 
mortal enemy of the English. Yet he does not appear to be popular 
in Arabia, as an unsuccessful attempt was made on his life soon 
after his arrival at Makkah. E. M. W. 

* The defeat of the Wahabis by Ibrahim Pasha in 1818 brought 
a considerable portion of Arabia, comprising about two hundred 
thousand square miles, under Turkish suzerainty. The rule of the 
Turk, however, is for the most part merely nominal, and this becomes 
more so each year as the power of the Ottoman empire decreases. 
So far, however, as recognised, it extends over almost the whole of 
Hijaz, with Makkah, Madina, and Jidda, under semi-independent 
rulers, the northern part of Yaman, and about half of Ahra (with 
Palgrave’s Hofhoof) on the east coast. Madina is subject to the 
Grand Sharif of Makkah. 

A German traveller (Von Moltzan) tells us that Arabia, especially 
South-Western Arabia, is honeycombed by numerous sects, notably 
by that of the “Hidden Imam.” The Wahabis too are stirring 
again, and the powerful chief of Northern Hij4z, with his hordes of 
Bedouins, is quite ready to throw off the Ottoman yoke, light as it 
is. It therefore appears that while the Turk possesses considerably 
more authority in Arabia than he formerly did, according to our 
author, there is every reason to believe it to be for the most part 
nominal, and that even this tenure is likely to be of short duration. 
(I am indebted for most of the information in this note and the two 
preceding to the research of the Rev. P. M. Zenker, C.M.S., Agra.) 

E. M. W. 








1 Voyage del’ Arab. Heur., p. 145. 3 Vide D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., 
? Ibid., pp. 143, 148. P. 477: 


SEC. I.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 33 


they have a Pasha whose authority is very small, they 
possess nothing considerable in Arabia.! * 

_ Thus have the Arabs preserved their liberty, of which reer 
few nations can produce so ancient monuments, with very served in all 
little interruption, from the very Deluge; for though very er 
ereat armies have been sent against them, all attempts to 
subdue them were unsuccessful. The Assyrian or Median 
empires never got footing among them.2 The Persian 
monarchs, though they were their friends, and so far 
respected by them as to have an annual present of frank- 
incense,’ yet could never make them tributary ;* and were 
so far from being their masters, that Cambyses, on his 
expedition against Egypt, was obliged to ask their leave 
to pass through their territories;° and when Alexander 
had subdued that mighty empire, yet the Arabians had 
so little apprehension of him, that they alone, of all the 
neighbouring nations, sent no ambassadors to him, either 
first or last; which, with a desire of possessing so rich a 
country, made him form a design against it, and had he 
not died before he could put it in execution,® this people 
might possibly have convinced him that he was not invin- 
cible: and I do not find that any of his successors, either 
in Asia or Egypt, ever made any attempt against them.’ 
The Romans never conquered any part of Arabia properly 
so called; the most they did was to make some tribes in 
Syria tributary to them, as Pompey did one commanded 
by Sampsiceramus or Shams’alkeram, who reigned at 
Hems or Emesa;* but none of the Romans, or any other 
nations that we know of, ever penetrated so far into Arabia 
as Atlus Gallus under Augustus Ceesar;® yet he was so 
far from subduing it, as some authors pretend,!° that he 





* See note above. 








1 Voy. de Arab. Heur., p. 148. 7 Vide Diodor. Sic., ubi supra. 

2. Diodor. Sic., 1.2, p. 131. 8 Strabo, 1. 16, p. 1092. 

3 Herodot., 1. 3, ¢. 97. 9 Dion Cassius, 1. 53, p. m. 516. 
4 Idem ib. c. 91. Diodor., ubi sup. 1° Huet, Hist. du Commerce ‘et 
> Herodot., 1. 3, c. 8 and 98. de la Navigation des Anciens, c. 


6 Strabo, ]. 16, pp. 1076, 1132. 50. 
C 


The religion 
of the Arabs 
before Mu- 
hammad. 


The Sabian 
religion de- 
scribed. 


34 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. I. 


was soon obliged to return without effecting anything con- 
siderable, having lost the best part of his army by sickness 
and other accidents.t This ill success probably discouraged 
the Romans from attacking them any more; for Trajan, 
notwithstanding the flatteries of the historians and orators 
of his time, and the medals struck by him, did not subdue . 
the Arabs; the province of Arabia, which it is said he 
added to the Roman empire, scarce reaching farther than 
Arabia Petreea, or the very skirts of the country. And we 
are told by one author,’ that this prince, marching against 
the Agarens who had revolted, met with such a reception 
that he was obliged to return without doing anything. 

The religion of the Arabs before Muhammad, which they 
call the state of ignorance, in opposition to the knowledge of 
Gon’s true worship revealed to them by their prophet, was 
chiefly gross idolatry; the Sabian religion having almost 
overrun the whole nation, though there were also great 
numbers of Christians, Jews, and Magians among them. 

I shall not here transcribe what Dr. Prideaux? has written 
of the original of the Sabian religion; but instead thereof 
insert a brief account of the tenets and worship of that 
seet. They do not only believe one Gop, but produce 
many strong arguments for his unity, though they also 
pay an adoration to the stars, or the angels and intelli- 
gences which they suppose reside in them, and govern 
the world under the Supreme Deity. They endeavour to 
perfect themselves in the four intellectual virtues, and 
believe the souls of wicked men will be punished for nine 
thousand ages, but will afterwards be received to mercy. 
They are obliged to pray three times* a day; the first, half 
an hour or less before sunrise, ordering it so that they 
may, just as the sun rises, finish eight adorations, each 
containing three prostrations:° the second prayer they 


1 See the whole expedition de- 4 Some say seven. See D’Her- 


scribed at large by Strabo, 1, 16, p. .belot, p. 726, and Hyde, De Rel. Vet. 
1126, &e. ° Pers., p. 128. 
2 Xiphilin., epit. ® Others say they use no incur- 


3 Connect. of the Hist. of the Old vations or prostrations at all; vide 
and New Test., p. 1, bk. 3. Hyde, ibid. 


SEC. I.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 35 


end at noon, when the sun begins to decline, in saying 
which they perform five such adorations as the former: 
and the same they do the third time, ending just as the 
sun sets. They fast three times a year, the first time 
thirty days, the next nine days, and the last seven. They 
offer many sacrifices, but eat no part of them, burning 
them all. They abstain from beans, garlic, and some other 
pulse and vegetables! As to the Sabian Qibla, or part 
to which they turn their faces in praying, authors greatly 
differ ; one will have it to be the north,” another the south, 
a third Makkah, and a fourth the star to which they pay 
their devotions:*® and perhaps there may be some variety 
in their practice in this respect. They go on pilgrimage 
to a place near the city of Harran in Mesopotamia, where 
ereat numbers of them dwell, and they have also a great 
respect for the temple of Makkah, and the pyramids of 
Egypt;* fancying these last to be the sepulchres of Seth, and 
of Enoch and Sabi his two sons, whom they look on as the 
first propagators of their religion; at these structures they 
sacrifice a cock and a black calf, and offer up incense.® Be- 
sides the Book of Psalms, the only true Scripture they read, 
they have other books which they esteem equally sacred, par- 
ticularly one in the Chaldean tongue which they call the Book 
of Seth, and which is full of moral discourses. This sect say 
they took the name of Sabian from the above-mentioned Sabi, 
though it seems rather to be derived from NA, Sabva,° or the 
host of heaven, which they worship.’ Travellers commonly 
call them Christians of St. John the Baptist, whose disciples 
also they pretend to be, using a kind of baptism, which is 
the greatest mark they bear of Christianity. This is one of 
the religions, the practice of which Muhammad tolerated (on 








1 Abulfarag, Hist. Dynast., p. astronomer, and himself a Sabian, 


281, &e. wrote a treatise in Syriac concerning 
2 Tdem ibid. the doctrines, rites, and ceremonies 
3 Hyde, ubi supra, p. 124, &c. of this sect ; from which, if it could 
4 D’Herbelot, ubi supra. be recovered, we might expect much 
5 See Greaves’ Pyramidog., pp,6,7. better information than any taken 
6 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 138. from the Arabian writers; vide 


7 Thabit Ibn Kurrah, a famous Abulfarag, ubi supra. 


36 | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SECs T ac 


paying tribute), and the professors of it are often included in 
that expression of the Quran, “those to whom the Scrip- 
tures have been given,” or literally, the people of the book.* 
fvmnicir Lhe idolatry of the Arabs then, as Sabians, chiefly con- 
worship. _ sisted in worshipping the fixed stars and planets, and the 
angels and their images, which they honoured as inferior 
deities, and whose intercession they begged, as their 
mediators with Gop. For the Arabs acknowledged one 
supreme GoD, the Creator and LorD of the universe, whom 
they called Allah Taala, the most high Gop; and their 
other deities, who were subordinate to him, they called 
simply al Ilahat, ae, the goddesses; which words the 
Grecians not understanding, and it being their constant 
custom to resolve the religion of every other nation into 
their own, and find out gods of theirs to match the others’, 
they pretend that the Arabs worshipped only two deities, 
Orotalt and Alilat, as those names are corruptly written, 
whom they will have to be the same with Bacchus and 
Urania; pitching on the former as one of the greatest of 
their own gods, and educated in Arabia, and on the other 
because of the veneration shown by the Arabs to the stars.t 
sh That they acknowledged one supreme GOD, appears, to 
onesupreme omit other proof, from their usual form of addressing 
themselves to him, which was this, “I dedicate myself to 
thy service, O Gop! Thou hast no companion, except 
thy companion of whom thou art absolute master, and of 
whatever is his.”? So that they supposed the idols not to 
be swt juris, though they offered sacrifices and other offer- 
ings to them, as well as to GoD, who was also often put 
off with the least portion, as Muhammad upbraids them. 
Thus when they planted fruit-trees or sowed a field, they 
divided it by a line into two parts, setting one apart for 


* For a better account of these Sabians, see note on chap. ii. 
v. 61. E. M. W. 


1 Vide Herodot., 1. 3, c. 8; Arrian, pp. 161, 162; and Strabo, 1. 16. 
2 Al Shahristani. 


SEC. L.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 37 


their idols, and the other for Gop; if any of the fruits 
happened to fall from the idol’s part into Gon’s, they made 
restitution; but if from Gop’s part into the idol’s, they 
made no restitution. So when they watered the idol’s 
grounds, if the water broke over the channels made for 
that purpose, and ran on Gop’s part, they dammed it up 
again; but if the contrary, they let it run on, saying, they 
wanted what was Gon’s, but he wanted nothing. In the 
same manner, if the offering designed for Gop happened 
to be better than that designed for the idol, they made an 
exchange, but not otherwise.? 

It was from this gross idolatry, or the worship of inferior muhammad 
deities, or companions of GoD, as the Arabs continue to primitive 
call them, that Muhammad reclaimed his countrymen, theism. 
establishing the sole worship of the true GoD among them ; 
so that how much soever the Muhammadans are to blame 
in other points, they are far from being idolaters,* as some 
ignorant writers have pretended. 

The worship of the stars the Arabs might easily be led Origin of 
into, from their observing the changes of Breather to happen + ore 
at the rising and setting of certain of them,? which after 
a long course of experience induced them to ascribe a 
divine power to those stars, and to think themselves in- 
debted to them for their rains, a very great benefit and 
refreshment to their parched country: this superstition 
the Quran particularly takes notice of. 


* So far as the Quran and the religion of Muhammad are con- 
cerned, a charge of idolatry would be a sign of ignorance. But 
when we take into account the reverence of Muslims for the Black 
Stone at Makkah, their worship of Walis or saints, and notably of 
Hasan and Husain, the charge is just. However, when this incon- 
sistency of Muslims is made to appear as an argument against Islam, 
it is as absurd as the attempt of Muslims to ata the charge of 
idolatry against Christians by pointing to Roman Catholic image- 
worship. E, M. W. 


1 Nodhm al dorr. 3 Vide post. 
2 Al Baidhdwi. 4 Vide Poe. Spec., p. 163. 


38 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. 1 


The temple The ancient Arabians and Indians, between which two 

Ghumdén at nations was a great conformity of religions, had seven 

et celebrated temples, dedicated to the seven planets; one 
of which in particular, called Bait Ghumdan, was built in 
Sanaa, the metropolis of Yaman, by Dahaq, to the honour 
of al Zuharah or the planet Venus, and was demolished by 
the Khaltfah Othman ;+ by whose murder was fulfilled the 
prophetical inscription set, as is reported, over this temple, 
viz., “ Ghumdan, he who destroyeth thee shall be slain.” 2 
The temple of Makkah is also said to have been consecrated 
to Zuhal, or Saturn.® 

Different Though these deities were generally reverenced by the 


stars wor- 


peered by whole nation, yet each tribe chose some one as the more 
tribes. peculiar object of their worship. 

Thus as to the stars and planets, the tribe of Himyar 
chiefly worshipped the sun; Misam,* al Dabaran, or the 
Bull’s-eye; Lakhm and Jodam, al Mushtari, or Jupiter; 
Tay, Suhail, or Canopus; Qais, Sirius, or the Dog-star ; 
and Asad, Atarid, or Mercury. Among the worshippers 
of Sirius, one Abu Qabsha was very famous; some will 
have him to be the same with Wahab, Muhammad’s grand- 
father by the mother, but others say he was of the tribe 
of Khuzdiah. This man used his utmost endeavours to 
persuade the Quraish to leave their images and worship 
this star; for which reason Muhammad, who endeavoured 
also to make them leave their images, was’ by them nick- 
named the son of Abu Qabsha.6 The worship of this star 
is particularly hinted at in the Quran.’ 

Angels or Of the angels or intelligences which they worshipped, 

gods wor- F : é 

shippedas the Quran ® makes mention only of three, which were wor- 

fee shipped under female names ;° al Lat, al Uzza, and Minah. 
These were by them called goddesses, and the daughters 


1 Shahristani. 2 Al Janndbi. > Abulfarag, p. 160. 

3 Shahristani. © Poe. Spec., p.c1 a2 

4 This name seems to be cor- 1 Cap. 537 vee 
rupted, there being no such among 8 Tbhid., vs. 19-28. 
the Arab tribes. Poc. Spec., p. 130. * Ibid, 


SEG: 1] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 39 


of Gop; an-appellation they gave not only to the angels, 
but also to their images, which they either believed to be 
inspired with life by Gop, or else to become the tabernacles 
of the angels, and to be animated by them ; and they gave 
them divine worship, because they Pied they inter- 
ceded for them with Gon. 

Al Lat was the idol of the tribe of Thakif who dwelt at The idol 
Tayif, and had a temple consecrated to her in a place * 
called Nakhla. This idol al Mughairah destroyed by 
Muhammad’s order, who sent him and Abu Sofian on that 
commission in the ninth year of the Hijrat The inhabi- 
tants of Tayif, especially the women, bitterly lamented 
the loss of this their deity, which they were so fond of, 
that they begged of Muhammad, as a condition of peace, 
that it might not be destroyed for three years, and not 
obtaining that, asked only a month’s respite; but he 
absolutely denied it2 There are several derivations of 
this word, which the curious may learn from Dr. Pocock ; # 
it seems most probably to be derived from the same root 
with Allah, to which it may be a feminine, and will then 
signify the goddess. 

Al Uzza, as some affirm, was the idol of the tribes of The iaot 
Quraish and Kinanah,* and part. of the tribe of Salim ; Sees 
others ° tell us it was a tree called the Egyptian thorn, or 
acacia, worshipped by the tribe of Ghatfan, first consecrated 
by one Dhalim, who built a chapel over it, called Boss, 
so contrived as to give a sound when any person entered. 
Khalid Ibn Walid being sent by Muhammad in the eighth 
year of the Hijra to destroy this idol, demolished the 
chapel, and cutting down this tree or image, burnt it: 
he also slew the priestess, who ran out with her hair 
dishevelled, and her hands on her head as asuppliant. Yet 





1 Dr. Prideaux mentions this struments of war. See his Life of 
expedition, but names only Abu Mahomet, p. 98. 
Sofian, and mistaking the name of Z Abulfeda, Vit. Muham. Daley. 
the idol for an appellative, sup- oP ot. Spec., p- 90. 
poses he went only to disarm the 4 Al Jauhari, apud eund., p. 91. 
Tayifians of their weapons and in- 5 Al Shah., ib. § Al Firauz., ib. 


The idol 
inah. 


Idols Wadd, 
Sawa, 
Yaghuth, 
Yauq, and 
asr. 


40 - THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. I. 


the author who relates this, in another place says, the 
chapel was pulled down, and Dhalim himself killed by 
one Zuhair, because he consecrated this chapel with design 
to draw the pilgrims thither from Makkah, and lessen the 
reputation of the Kaabah. The name of this deity is 
derived from the root azza, and signifies the most mighty. 

Minah was the object of worship of the tribes of Hu- 
dhail and Khuzdah,! who dwelt between Makkah and Ma- 
dina, and, as some say,” of the tribes of Aws, Khazraj, and 
Thakif also. This idol was a large stone,? demolished by 
one Saad, in the eighth year of the Hijra, a year so fatal 
to the idols of Arabia. The name seems derived from 
manda, to flow, from the flowing of the blood of the victims 
sacrificed to the deity; whence the valley of Mina,* near 
Makkah, had also its name, where the pilgrims at this day 
slay their sacrifices.® 

Before we proceed to the other idols, let us take notice 
of five more, which with the former three are all the 
Qurdn mentions by name, and they are Wadd, Sawa, 
Yaghuth, Yatiq, and Nasr. These are said to have been 
antediluvian idols, which Noah preached against, and 
were afterwards taken by the Arabs for gods, having been 
men of creat merit and piety in their time, whose statues 
they reverenced at first with a civil honour only, which in 
process of time became heightened to a divine worship.® 

Wadd was supposed to be the heaven, and was wor- 
shipped under the form of a man by the tribe of Qalb in 
Daumat al Jandal.? : 

Sawa was adored under the shape of a woman by the 
tribe of Hamadan, or, as others® write, of Hudhail in 
Rohat. This idol lying under water for some time after 
the Deluge, was at length, it is said, discovered by the 
devil, and was worshipped by those of Hudhail, who 
instituted pilgrimages to it.® 

1 Al Jauhari. Persic.; vide Hyde, De Rel. Vet. 

2 Al Shahristini, Abulfeda, &c.  Pers., p. 133. 

3 Al Baidhawi, al Zamakhshari. 7 Al Jauhari, al Shahristéni. 


4 Poc. Spec, p. 91, &e. — * Ibid. 8 Idem, al Firauzdbadi, and Sa- 
6 Quran, c 71, v. 22; Comment. fiu’ddin, 9 Al Firauzab. 


SEC. I.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. a 


Yaghuth was an idol in the shape of a lion, and was 
the deity of the tribe of Madhaj and others who dwelt in 
Yaman.t Its name seems to be derived from ghatha, 
which signifies to help. 

Yauiq was worshipped by the tribe of Murad, or, accord- 
ing to others, by that of Hamadan,? under the figure of a 
horse. Itis said he was a man of great piety, and his 
death much regretted; whereupon the devil appeared to 
his friends in a human form, and undertaking to repre- 
sent him to the life, persuaded them, by way of comfort, 
to place his effigies in their temples, that they might have 
it in view when at their devotions. This was done, and 
seven others of extraordinary merit had the same honours 
shown them, till at length their posterity made idols of 
them in earnest.2 The name Yauq probably comes from 
the verb dqa, to prevent or avert.* 

Nasr was a deity adored by the tribe of Himyar, or at 
Dhw Khalaah in their territories, under the image of, an 
eagle, which the name signifies, 

There are, or were, two statues at Bamiyan,a city of 
Cabul in the Indies, fifty cubits high, which some writers 
suppose to be the same with Yaghuth and Yiiugq, or else 
with Mindh and al Lat; and they also speak of a third 
standing near the others, but something less, in the shape 
of an old woman, called Nasram or Nasr. These statues 
were hollow within, for the secret giving of oracles;° but 
they seem to have been different from the Arabian idols. 
There was also an idol at Sumenat in the Indies, called 
Lat or al Lat,* whose statue was fifty fathoms high, of a 





* Somndth is the name of the idol, and is applied to the god 
Mahadev. This idol may have been called Zdt or al Ldt by the 
Muslim plunderer, Mahmud, and his followers, but that it was ever 





so called by the Hindus is a mistake. E, M. W. 
1 Shahristdni. 4 Poe. Spec., p. 94. 
2 Al Jauhari. 5 See Hyde, De Rel. Vet. Pers., p. 


3 Al Firauzdb, bie, 


‘The worship 


of Hoba 
and other 
idols of the 
Kaabah. 


The idols 
Asaf and 
Nailah of 
Safa and _ 
Marwa. 


42 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. I: 


single stone, and placed in the midst of a temple supported 
by fifty-six pillars of massy gold: this idol Mahmud Ibn 
Sabaqtaghin, who conquered that part of India, broke to 
pieces with his own hands. 

Besides the idols we have mentioned, the Arabs also 
worshipped great numbers of others, which would take up 
too much time to have distinct accounts given of them; 
and not being named in the Quran, are not so much to 
our present purpose: for besides that every housekeeper 
had his household god or gods, which he last took leave 
of and first saluted at his going abroad and returning home,? 
there were no less than 360 idols,? equalling in number 
the days of their year, in and about the Kaabah of Makkah; 
the chief of whom was Hobal,* brought from Belka in 
Syria into Arabia by Amru Ibn Luhai, pretending it 
would procure them rain when they wanted it. It was 
the statue of a man, made of agate, which having by some 
accident lost a hand, the Quraish repaired it with one of 
gold: he held in his hand seven arrows without heads or 
feathers, such as the Arabs use in divination. This idol 
is supposed to have been the same with the image of 
Abraham,’ found and destroyed by Muhammad in the 
Kaabah, on his entering it, in the eighth year of the Hijra, 
when he took Makkah,Sand surrounded witha great number 
of angels and prophets, as inferior deities ; among whom, as 
some say, was Ismail, with divining arrows in his hand also.® 

Asaf and Natlah, the former the image of a man, the 
latter of a woman, were also two idols brought with Hobal 
from Syria, and placed the one on Mount Safa, and the 
other on Mount Marwa.* They tell us Asdf was the son 





* Safa and Marwa “are two slightly elevated spots adjacent to 





the Temple of Mekkeh.”—Lane’s Kurdn, p. 33. E. M. W. 
1 D’Herbelot, Bibl. Orient., p. 5 Poc. Spec., p. 95- 

Bie. 6 Safiu’ddin. 
2 Al Mustatraf. | 7 Poc. Spec., p. 97. 
3 Al Jannab. , § Abulfeda. 


4 Abulfed., Shahrist., &c. ' 9 Tpn al Ashir., al Jannab., &c. 


SECr i. THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 43 


of Amru, and Nailah the daughter of Sahal, both of the 
tribe of Jorham, who committing whoredom together in 
the Kaabah, were by Gop converted into stone,' and after- 
wards worshipped by the Quraish, and so much reverenced 
by them, that though this superstition was condemned by 
Muhammad, yet he was forced to allow them to visit those 
mountains as monuments of divine justice.” 

I shall mention but one idol more of this nation, and The e dough- 
that was a lump of dough worshipped by the tribe of the tribe of 
Hantfa, who used it with more respect than the Papists 
do theirs, presuming not to eat it till to were compelled 
to it by famine.’ 

Several of their idols, as Mindah in particular, were no Origin of 
more than large rude stones, the worship of which the ship. 
posterity of Ismail first introduced ; for as they multiplied, 
and the territory of Makkah grew too strait for them, great 
numbers were obliged to seek new abodes; and on such 
migrations it was usual for them to take with them 
some of the stones of that reputed holy land, and set them 
up in the places where they fixed ; and these stones they 
at first only compassed out of devotion, as they had 
accustomed to do the Kaabah. But this at last ended in 
rank idolatry, the Ismailites forgetting the religion left 
them by their father so far as to pay divine worship to 
any fine stone they met with.* 

Some of the pagan Arabs believed neither a creation Arab belief 
past, nor a resurrection to come, attributing the origin of fos ne 
things to nature, and their dissolution to age. Others 
believed both, among whom were those who, when they 
died, had their camel tied by their sepulchre, and so left, 
without meat or drink, to perish, and accompany them to 
the other world, lest they should be obliged, at the resur- 
rection, to go on foot, which was reckoned very scandalous.® 





1 Poe. Spec., p. 98. 4 Al Mustatraf, al Janndbi. 
2 Quran, c. 2, v. 159. > Abulfarag, p. 160. 
_ § Al Mustatraf, al Jauhari. 


4A THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. I. 


Some believed a metempsychosis, and that of the blood 
near the dead person’s brain was formed a bird named 
Hamah, which once in a hundred years visited the sepul- 
chre; though others say this bird was animated by the 
soul of him that is unjustly slain, and continually cries, 
Isquni, Isqini, ve., “give me to drink”—meaning of the 
murderer's blood—till his death be revenged, and then 
it flies away. This was forbidden by the Quran to be 
believed.t 

I might here mention several superstitious rites and 
customs of the ancient Arabs, some of which were 
abolished and others retained by Muhammad; but IL 
apprehend it will be more convenient to take notice of 
them hereafter occasionally, as the negative or positive 
precepts of the Quran, forbidding or allowing such prac- 
tices, shall be considered. 

Let us now turn our view from the idolatrous Arabs, 
to those among them who had embraced more rational 
religions. | 

The Magian The Persians had, by their vicinity and frequent inter- 

adopted by course with the Arabians, introduced the Magian religion 

aes among some of their tribes, particularly that of Tamim,? a 
long time before Muhammad, who was so far from being 
unacquainted with that religion, that he borrowed many 
of his own institutions from it, as will be observed in the 
progress of this work. I refer those who are desirous to 
have some notion of Magism to Dr. Hyde’s curious account 
of it,? a succinct abridgment of which may be read with 
much pleasure in another learned performance.* 

Judaism in- The Jews, who fled in great numbers into Arabia from 

ee. the fearful destruction of their country by the Romans, 

secution. maade proselytes of several tribes, those of Kinanah, al 
Harith Ibn Kaabah, and Kindah® in particular, and in 








1 ‘Vide Poc. Spec., p. 135. Hist. of the Old and New Test., 
2 Al Mustatraf. part i. book 4. 
3 In his Hist. Relig. Vet. Pers. 5 Al Mustatraf. 


4 Dr. Prideaux’s Connect. of the 


SEC. 1.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 45 


time became very powerful, and possessed of several towns 
and fortresses there. But the Jewish religion was not 
unknown to the Arabs, at least above a century before. 
Abu Qarib Asad, taken notice of in the Quran,! who was 
king of Yaman, about 700 years before Muhammad,* is 
said to have introduced Judaism among the idolatrous 
Himyarites. Some of his successors also embraced the 
same religion, one of whom, Yusaf, surnamed Dhu Nuwas,? 
was remarkable for his zeal and terrible persecution of 
all who would not turn Jews, putting them to death by 
various tortures, the most common of which was throwing 
them into a glowing pit of fire, whence he had the oppro- 
brious appellation of the Lord of the Pit. This persecu- 
tion is also mentioned in the Quran.’ 

Christianity had likewise made a very great progress christianity 
among this nation before Muhammad. Whether Si’Patlie sae 
preached in any part of Arabia, properly so called,‘ is 
uncertain; but the persecutions and disorders which hap- 
pened in the Eastern Church soon after the beginning of the 
third century, obliged great numbers of Christians to seek 
for shelter in that country of liberty, who, being for the most 
part of the Jacobite communion, that sect generally pre- 
vailed among the Arabs.® The principal tribes that em- 
braced Christianity were Himyar, Ghassan, Rabfa, Taghlab, 
Bahra, Tunukh,® part of the tribes of Tay and Kudaa, the 
inhabitants of Najran, and the Arabs of Hira.’ As to the 
two last, it may be observed that those of Najran became 
Christians in the time of Dhu Nuwas,’ and very probably, 


* Here is another instance of the error into which the writers of last 
century were led by Muslim authors. This Abu Qarib Asad flourished 
about the beginning of the third century of our era, and hence about 
four hundred years before Muhammad. See Introd. Muir’s Life of 








Mahomet, vol. i. p. clvi. E. M. W. 
1 Chap. 50. ® Abulfarag, p. 149. 
2 See before, p. 28, and Baronii, 6 Al Mustatraf. 
Annal. ad sec. vi. 7 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 137. , 
3 Chap. 85, vv. 4, 5. 8 Al Janndbi, apud Poe. Spec., p. 


4 See Galat. i. 17. 63. 


46 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SECM 


if the story be true, were some of those who were con- 
verted on the following occasion, which happened about 
that time, or not long before. The Jews of Himyar 
challenged some neighbouring Christians toa public dis- 
putation, which was held swb dio for three days before the 
king and his nobility and all the people, the disputants 
being Gregentius, bishop of Tephra (which I take to be 
Dhafar) for the Christians, and Herbanus for the Jews. 
On the third day, Herbanus, to end the dispute, demanded 
that Jesus of Nazareth, if he were really living and in 
heaven, and could hear the prayers of his worshippers, 
should appear from heaven in their sight, and they would 
then believe in him; the Jews crying out with one voice, 
“Show us your Christ, alas! and we will become Chris- 
tians.” Whereupon, after a terrible storm of thunder and 
lightning, Jesus Christ appeared in the air, surrounded 
with rays of glory, walking on a purple cloud, having a 
sword in his hand, and an inestimable diadem on his head, 
and spake these words over the heads of the assembly, 
“ Behold I appear to you in your sight, I, who was cru- 
cified by your fathers.” After which the cloud received 
him from their sight. The Christians cried out, “ Kyrie 
eleeson,” %.¢., “ Lord, have mercy upon us;” but the Jews 
were stricken blind, and recovered not till they were all 
baptized. * 

The Christians at Hira received a great accession by 
several tribes, who fled thither for refuge from the persecu- 
tion of Dhu Nuwas. Al Numan, surnamed Abu Kabus, 
king of Hira, who was slain a few months before Mu- 
hammad’s birth, professed himself a Christian on the 
following occasion. This prince, in a drunken fit, ordered 





* We can but wonder at the apparent credulity which could admit 
a story like this as anything more than a fabrication. The whole 
account of the persecution of Christians by Dhu Nuwas shows that 
Christianity had been introduced before his time. E.M. W. 


1 Vide Gregentii disput. cum Herbano Judo, 


SEC. I. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE; 47 


two of his intimate companions, who overcome with 
liquor had fallen asleep, to be buried alive. When he 
came to himself, he was extremely concerned at what he 
had done, and to expiate his crime, not only raised a 
monument to the memory of his friends, but set apart two 
days, one of which he called the unfortunate, and the other 
the fortunate day; making it a perpetual rule to himself, 
that whoever met him on the former day should be slain, 
and his blood sprinkled on the monument, but he that met 
him on the other day should be dismissed in safety, with 
magnificent gifts. On one of those unfortunate days there 
came before him accidentally an Arab of the tribe of Tay, 
who had once entertained this king when fatigued with 
hunting and separated from his attendants. The king, 
who could neither discharge him, contrary to the order of. 
the day, nor put him to death, against the laws of hospi- 
tality, which the Arabians religiously observe, proposed, as 
an expedient, to give the unhappy man a year’s respite, 
and to send him home with rich gifts for the support of 
his family, on condition that he found a surety for his 
returning at the year’s end to suffer death. One of the 
prince’s court, out of compassion, offered himself as his 
surety, and the Arab was discharged. When the last day 
of the term came, and no news of the Arab, the king, not 
at all displeased to save his host’s life, ordered the surety 
to prepare himself todie. Those who were by represented 
to the king that the day was not yet expired, and there- 
fore he ought to have patience till the evening; but in the 
middle of their discourse the Arab appeared. The king, 
admiring the man’s generosity, in offering himself to cer- 
tain death, which he might have avoided by letting his 
surety suffer, asked him what his motive was for so 
doing? to which he answered, that he had been taught to 
act in that manner by the religion he professed; and al numan, 
Numan demanding what religion that was, he replied, the {7% 


Hira, con- 


Christian, Whereupon the king desiring to have the Wct! 


doctrines of Christianity explained to him, was baptized, *™™ 


¢ 


The extent 
of the Chris- 
tian Church 
in Arabia. 


48 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEG. f 


he and his subjects; and not only pardoned the man and 
his surety, but abolished his barbarous custom.t This 
prince, however, was not the first king of Hira who em- 
braced Christianity; al Mundar, his grandfather, having 
also professed the same faith, and built large churches 
in his capital.? 

Since Christianity had made so great a progress in 
Arabia, we may consequently suppose they had bishops 
in several parts, for the more orderly governing of the 
churches. A bishop of Dhafar has been already named, 
and we are told that Najran was also a bishop’s see.2 The 
Jacobites (of which sect we have observed the Arabs gene- 
rally were) had two bishops of the Arabs subject to their 
Mafridn,* or metropolitan of the East; one was called the 


‘bishop of the Arabs absolutely, whose.seat was for the 


Free 
thought 
and Zendi- 
cism among 
the Quraish, 


most part at Akula, which some others make the same 
with Kufa,* others a different town near Baghdad.® The 
other had the title of bishop of the Scenite Arabs, of the 
tribe of Thaalab in Hira, or Hirta, as the Syrians call it, 
whose seat was in that city. The Nestorians had but one 
bishop, who presided over both these dioceses of Hira and 
Akula, and was immediately subject to their patriarch.® 
These were the principal religions which obtained among 
the ancient Arabs; but as freedom of thought was the 
natural consequence of their political liberty and inde- 
pendence, some of them fell into other different opinions. 
The Quraish, in particular, were infected with Zendicism,’ 
an error supposed to have very near affinity with that of 
the Sadducees among the Jews, and, perhaps, not greatly 





* Lane says “the Copts call their metropolitan Matran.”—Kurdn, 
Pp. 39, note. E. M. W. 


1 Al Maidéni and Ahmad Ibn ° Abulfeda in Descr. Irace. 
Yusaf, apud Poc. Spec., p. 72 6 Vide Assemani, Bibl. Orient., 
2 Abulfeda, apud eund., p. 74. tom. 2, in Dissert. de Monophysitis, 
3 Safiu’ddin, apud Poc. Spec, p. and p. 245. 
137. 7 Al Mustatraf, apud Poc. Spec.,, 
4 Abulfarag in Chron. Syriac, MS. p. 136. 


SEC. I.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 49 


different from Deism ; for there were several of that tribe, 
even before the time of Muhammad, who worshipped one 
Gop and were free from idolatry,' and yet embraced none 
of the other religions of the country. 

The Arabians before Muhammad were, as they yet are, 
divided into two sorts—those who dwell in cities and 
towns, and those who dwell in tents. The former lived 
by tillage, the cultivation of palm-trees, breeding and 
feeding of cattle, and the exercise of all sorts of trades? 
particularly merchandising,? wherein they were very emi- 
nent, even in the time of Jacob. The tribe of Quraish 
were much addicted to commerce, and Muhammad, in his 
younger years, was brought up to the same business; it 
being customary for the Arabians to exercise the same 
trade that their parents did* The Arabs who dwelt in 
tents employed themselves in pasturage, and sometimes 
in pillaging of passengers; they lived chiefly on the milk 
and flesh of camels ; they often changed their habitations, 
as the convenience of water and of pasture for their cattle 
invited them, staying in a place no longer than that lasted, 
and then removing in search of other.® They generally 
wintered in Irak and the confines of Syria. This way of 
life is what the greater part of Ismail’s posterity have 
used, as more agreeable to the temper and way of life of 
their father; and is so well described by a late author 
that I cannot do better than refer the reader to his account 
of them. 

The Arabic language is undoubtedly one of the most 
ancient in the world, and arose soon after, if not at, the 
confusion of Babel. There were several dialects of it, very 
different from each other: the most remarkable were that 


_ spoken by the tribes of Himyar and the other genuine Arabs, 








1 Vide Reland, De Relig. Moham., 3 See Prideaux’s Life of Mahomet, 
p. 270; and Millium de Moham- pp. 6. 
medismo ante Moham., p. 311. 4 Strabo, 1. 16, p. 1129. 

2 These seem to be the same whom © Idem ibid., p. 1084. 


M. La Roque calls Moors. Voy. dans 6 La Roque, Voy. dans la Pales- 


la Palestine, p. 110. tine, p. 109, &ec. 
D 


Two classes 
of Arabs 
previous to 
Muhammad, 


The dialects 
of the Arabic 
language. ~ 


The art of 
writing in 
Arabia. 


50 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SECs Ie 


and that of the Quraish. The Himydritic seems to have 
approached nearer to the purity of the Syriac than the 
dialect of any other tribe; for the Arabs acknowledge 
their father Yarab to have been the first whose tongue 
deviated from the Syriac (which was his mother tongue, 
and is almost generally acknowledged by the Asiatics to 
be the most ancient) to the Arabic. The dialect of the 
Quraish is usually termed the pure Arabic, or, as the 
Quran, which is written in this dialect, calls it, the per- 
spicuous and clear Arabic; perhaps, says Dr. Pocock, 
because Ismail, their father, brought the Arabic he had 
learned of the Jorhamites nearer to the original Hebrew. 
But the politeness and elegance of the dialect of the 
Quraish is rather to be attributed to their having the 
custody of the Kaabah, and dwelling in Makkah, the centre 
of Arabia, as well more remote from intercourse with 
foreigners, who might corrupt their language, as frequented 
by the Arabs from the country all around, not only on 
a religious account, but also for the composing of their 
differences, from whose discourse and verses they took 
whatever words or phrases they judged more pure and 
elegant; by which means the beauties of the whole 
tongue became transfused into this dialect. The Arabians 
are full of the commendations of their language, and not 
altogether without reason; for it claims the preference of 
most others in many respects, as being very harmonious 
and expressive, and withal so copious, that they say no 
man without inspiration can be perfect master of it in its 
utmost extent; and yet they tell us, at the same time, 
that the greatest part of it has been lost ; which will not 
be thought strange if we consider how late the art of 
writing was practised among them. For though it was 
known to Job, their countryman, and also to the Him- 


' yarites (who used a perplexed character called al Musnad, 


wherein the letters were not distinctly separate, and which 
was neither publicly taught, nor suffered to be used 








1 Jot Kix. 23, 24} 


SEC yt. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 


51 


without permission first obtained), many centuries before 
Muhammad, as appears from some ancient monuments, 
said to be remaining in their character; yet the other 
Arabs, and those of Makkah in particular, were, for many 
ages, perfectly ignorant of it, unless such of them as were 
Jews or Christians! Muramir Ibn Murra of Anbar, a 
city of Irak, who lived not many years before Muhammad, 
was the inventor of the Arabic character, which Bashar 
the Kindian is said to have learned from those of Anbar, 
and to have introduced at Makkah but a little while be- 
fore the institution of Muhammadism. These letters of 
Muramir were different from the Himyaritic; and though 
they were very rude, being either the same with or very 
much like the Cufic,2 which character is still found in 
inscriptions and some ancient books, yet they were those 
which the Arabs used for many years, the Quran itself 
being at first written therein; for the beautiful character 
they now use was first formed from the Cufic by Ibn 
Muklah, Wazir (or Visir) to the Khalifahs al Muktadir, al 
Qahir, and al Radi, who lived about three hundred years 
after Muhammad, and was brought to great perfection by 
.Ali Ibn Bawab,? who flourished in the following century, 
and whose name is yet famous among them on that 
account; yet, it is said, the person who completed it, and 
reduced it to its present form, was Yaqut al Mustasami, 
secretary to al Mustdsam, the last of the Khalifahs of the 
family of Abbas, for which reason he was surnamed al 
Khattai, or the Scribe. 

The accomplishments the Arabs 
chiefly on were: 1. Eloquence, and a perfect skill in their 
own tongue; 2. Expertness in the use of arms and horse- 


valued themselves Arab accom- 
plishments 
and learn- 


ng. 





1 See Prideaux’s Life of Maho- 
met, pp. 29, 30. 

2 A specimen of the Cufic charac- 
ter may be seen in Sir J. Chardin’s 
Travels, vol. iii. p. 119. 

3 Ibn Khaliqdn. Yet others at- 
tribute the honour of the invention 


of this character to Ibn Muklah’s 
brother, Abdallah al Hassan, and 
the perfecting of it to Ibn Amid al 
Katib, after it had been reduced to 
near the present form by Abd’alha- 
mid. Vide D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., 


pp. 590, 108, and 194. 


UY. OF ILL tis. 


Style of 
prose and 
poetry. 


Honour 
bestowed 
on poets. 


52 _ THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. { SEC.'T3 


manship; and 3. Hospitality." The first they exercised 
themselves in by composing of orations and poems, Their 
orations were of two sorts, metrical or prosaic, the one 
being compared to pearls strung, and the other to loose 
ones. They endeavoured to excel in both, and whoever 
was able, in an assembly, to persuade the people to a great 
enterprise or dissuade them from a dangerous one, or gave | 
them other wholesome advice, was honoured with the 
title of Khatib, or orator, which is now given to the 
Muhammadan preachers. They pursued a method very 
different from that of the Greek and Roman orators ; their 
sentences being like loose gems, without connection, so 
that this sort of composition struck the audience chiefly 
by the fulness of the periods, the elegance of the expres- 
sion, and the acuteness of the proverbial sayings; and so 
persuaded were they of their excelling in this way, that 
they would not allow any nation to understand the art of 
speaking in public except themselves and the Persians, 
which last were reckoned much inferior in that respect 
to the Arabians.2 Poetry was in so great esteem among 
them, that it was a great accomplishment, and a proof 
of ingenious extraction, to be able to express one’s self 
in verse with ease and elegance on any extraordinary 
occurrence; and even in their common discourse they 
made frequent applications to celebrated passages of their 
famous poets. In their poems were preserved the dis- 
tinction of descents, the rights of tribes, the memory of 
creat actions, and the propriety of their language; for 
which reasons an excellent poet reflected an honour on 
his tribe, so that as soon as any one began to be admired 
for his performances of this kind in a tribe, the other 
tribes sent publicly to congratulate them on the occasion, 
and themselves made entertainments, at which the women 
assisted, dressed in their nuptial ornaments, singing to the 
sound of timbrels the happiness of their tribe, who had 





1 Poc. Orat. ante Carmen Tograi, p. Io. ? Poc, Spec., p. 161. 


SEC. I.| THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 53 


now one to protect their honour, to preserve their genealo- 
gies and the purity of their language, and to transmit their 
actions to posterity ;1 for this was all performed by their 
poems, to which they were solely obliged for their know- 
ledge and instructions, moral and economical, and to which 
they had recourse, as to an oracle, in all doubts and differ- 
ences.2, No wonder, then, that a public congratulation 
was made on this account, which honour they yet were so 
far from making cheap, that they never did it but on one 
of these three occasions, which were reckoned great points 
of felicity, viz., on the birth of a boy, the rise of a poet, 
and the fall of a foal of generous breed. To keep up an 
emulation among their poets, the tribes had, once a year, a 
general assembly at Okatz,? a place famous on this account, 
and where they kept a weekly mart or fair, which was 
held on our Sunday.* This annual meeting lasted a whole 
month, during which time they employed themselves, not 
only in trading, but in repeating their poetical composi- 
tions, contending and vieing with each other for the prize ; 
whence the place, it is said, took its name.® The poems 
that were judged to excel were laid up in their kings’ 
treasuries, as were the seven celebrated poems, thence 
called al Muallaqat, rather than from their being hung 
up on the Kaabah, which honour they also had by public 
order, being written on Egyptian silk and in letters of 
gold; for which reason they had also the name of al 
Mudhahabat, or the golden verses.° 

The fair and assembly at Okatz were suppressed by 
Muhammad, in whose time, and for some years after, 
poetry seems to have been in some degree neglected by 
the Arabs, who were then employed in their conquests ; 
which being completed, and themselves at peace, not only 


1 Ibn Rashik, apud Poc. Spec., 4 Geogr. Nub., p. 51. 


p. 160. 5 Poc, Spec., p. 159. 
2 Poe. Orat. prefix. Carm. Tograi, 6 Tbid., and p. 381. Et in calce 
ubi supra. Notar. in Carmen Tograi, p. 233. 


3 Idem, Spec., p. 159. 


Poetic con- 
tests at the 
fair of 
Okatz. 


This fair 
suppressed 
by Muham- 
mad. 


Arab eques- 
trian and 
rnilitary 
training. 


Their hospi- 
tality and 
liberality. 


THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. ISECAI 


54 


this study was revived,! but almost all sorts of learning 
were encouraged and greatly improved by them. ‘This 
interruption, however, occasioned the loss of most of their 
ancient pieces of poetry, which were then chiefly pre- 
served by memory; the use of writing being rare among 
them in their time of ignorance. Though the Arabs 
were so early acquainted with poetry, they did not at first 
use to write poems of a just length, but only expressed 
themselves in verse occasionally; nor was their prosody 
digested into rules, till some time after Muhammad ;? 
for this was done, as it is said, by al Khalil Ahmad al 
Farahtdi, who lived in the reign of the Khalifah Harun 
al Rashid.4 

The exercise of arms and horsemanship’ they were in a 
manner obliged to practise and encourage, by reason of 
the independence of their tribes, whose frequent jarrings 
made wars almost continual; and they chiefly ended their 
disputes in field battles, it being a usual saying among 
them that Gop had bestowed four peculiar things on the 
Arabs—that their turbans should be to them instead of 
diadems, their tents instead of walls and houses, their 
swords instead of entrenchments, and their poems instead 
of written laws.° 

Hospitality was so habitual to them, and so much 
esteemed, that the examples of this kind among them 
exceed whatever can be produced from other nations. 
Hatim, of the tribe of Tay,° and Hasan, of that of Fizdrah,’ 
were particularly famous on this account; and the con- 





1 Jaléluddin al Soyt., apud Poe. 
Spec., p. 159, &e. 

2 Ibid., p. 160. 

3 Ibid., 161. Al Safadi confirms 
this by a story of a grammarian 
named Abu Jaafar, who sitting by 
the Mikyas or Nilometer in Egypt, 
in a year when the Nile did not rise 
to its usual height, so that a famine 
was apprehended, and dividing a 
piece of poetry into its parts or feet, 
to examine them by the rules of art, 





some who passed by not understand- 
ing him, imagined he was uttering 
a charm to hinder the rise of the 
river, and pushed him into the water, 
where he lost his life. 

4 Vide Clericum de Prosod. Arab., 
42s 

5 Pocock, in calce Notar. ad Car- 
men Tograi. . 

6 Vide Gentii Notas in Gulistan 
Sheikh Sadi, p. 486, &c. 

7 Poe. Spec., p. 48. 


SeCe Ti] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 55 


trary vice was so much in contempt, that a certain poet 
upbraids the inhabitants of Wasat, as with the greatest 
reproach, that none of their men had the heart to give 
nor their women to deny.? 

Nor were the Arabs less propense to liberality after the 
coming of Muhammad than their ancestors had been. I 
could produce many remarkable instances of this com- 


-mendable quality among them,” but shall content myself 


with the following. Three men were disputing in the court 
of the Kaabah which was the most liberal person among 
the Arabs. One gave the preference to Abdallah, the son 
of Jaafar, the uncle of Muhammad; another to Qais Ibn 
Saad Ibn Obadah; and the third gave it to Arabah, of the 


_ tribe of Aws. After much debate, one that was present, 


to end the dispute, proposed that each of them should go 
to his friend and ask his assistance, that they might see 
what every one gave, and form a judgment accordingly, 
This was agreed to; and Abdallah’s friend, going to him, 
found him with his foot in the stirrup, just mounting his 
camel for a journey, and thus accosted him: “Son of the 
apostle of Gop, I am travelling and in necessity.” Upon 
which Abdallah alighted, and bade him take the camel 
with all that was upon her, but desired him not to part with 
a sword which happened to be fixed to the saddle, because 
it had belonged to Ali, the son of Abutalib. So he took 
the camel, and found on her some vests of silk and 4000 
pieces of gold; but the thing of greatest value was the 
sword. The second went to @ais Ibn Saad, whose servant 
told him that his master was asleep, and desired to know 
his business. The friend answered that he came to ask 
Qais’s assistance, being in want on the road. Whereupon 
the servant said that he had rather supply his necessity 
than wake his master, and gave him a purse of 7000 pieces 
of gold, assuring him that it was all the money then in 





1 [Ibn al Hubairah, apud Poe. in belot’s Bibl. Orient., particularly in 
Not. ad Carmen Tograi, p. 107. the articles of Hasan the son of Ali, 
2 Several may be found in D’Her- Maan Fadhal, and Ibn Yahya. 


Their 
national 
defects and 
vices. 


56 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. I. 


the house. He also directed him to go to those who had 
the charge of the camels, with a certain token, and take a 
camel and a slave and return home with them. When 
(ais awoke, and his servant informed him of what he had 
done, he gave him his freedom, and asked him why he did 
not call him, “ For,” says he, “I would have given him 
more.” The third man went to Arabah, and met him 
coming out of his house in order to go to prayers, and 
leaning on two slaves, because his eyesight failed him. 
The friend no sooner made known his case, but Arabah 
let go the slaves, and clapping his hands together, loudly 
lamented his misfortune in having no money, but desired 
him to take the two slaves, which the man refused to do, 
till Arabah protested that if he would not accept of them he 
gave them their liberty, and leaving the slaves, groped his 
way along by the wall. On the return of the adventurers, 
judgment was unanimous, and with creat justice, given by 
all who were present, that Arabah was the- most generous 
of the three. 

Nor were these the only good qualities of the Arabs; 
they are commended by the ancients for being most exact 
to their words! and respectful to their kindred. And 
they have always been celebrated for their quickness of 
apprehension and penetration, and the vivacity of their 
wit, especially those of the desert.? 

As the Arabs have their excellences, so have they, ike 
other nations, their defects and vices. Their own writers 
acknowledge that they have a natural disposition to war, 
bloodshed, cruelty,* and rapine, being so much addicted 





* On the authority of Lane I give the following from Burckhardt’s 
Notes on the Bedowins and Wahhabys, vol. i. p. 185 :—“ The Turk is 
cruel, the Arab of a more kind temper; he pities and supports the 
wretched, and never forgets the generosity shown to him even by an 
enemy. Not accustomed to the sanguinary scenes that harden .and 


1 Herodot., L 3;.c, 8. 3 Vide D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., 
2 Strabo, 1. 16, p. 1129. i Pel2I, 


cel THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. yi 


to bear malice that they scarce ever forget an old grudge ; 
which vindictive temper some physicians say is occasioned 
by their frequently feeding on camels’ flesh * (the ordinary 
diet of the Arabs of the desert, who are therefore observed 
to be most inclined to these vices), that creature being 
most malicious and tenacious of anger,! which account 
suggests a good reason for a distinction of meats. 

The frequent robberies committed by these people on Strange 
merchants and travellers have rendered the name of an on 
Arab almost infamous in Europe; this they are sensible eae 
of, and endeavour to excuse themselves by alleging the 
hard usage of their father Ismail, who, being turned out of 
doors by Abraham, had the open plains and deserts given 
him by Gop for his patrimony, with permission to take 
whatever he could find there; and on this account they 
think they may, with a safe conscience, indemnify them- 
selves as well as they can, not only on the posterity of 
Isaac, but also on everybody else, always supposing a sort 
of kindred between themselves and those they plunder. 

And in relating their adventures of this kind, they think 
it sufficient to change the expression, and instead of “I 
robbed a man of such or such a thing,” to say “I gained 
it.” We must not, however, imagine that they are the 
less honest for this among themselves, or towards those 


corrupt an Osmanly’s heart, the Bedouin learns at an early period of 
life to abstain and to suffer, and to know from experience the healing 
power of pity and consolation.”—Kurdn, p. 48, note. E. M. W. 

* This, again, according to Burckhardt, is a mistake, for he says 
that the slaughter of a camel rarely happens. (See his Notes on the 
Bedouins and Wahhabys, vol. i. p. 63 ; Lane’s Kurdn, p. 48.) But 
the testimony of tradition to the fact that the Quraish, during their 
expedition against Muhammad which resulted in the battle of Badr, 
slaughtered nine camels daily, would seem to indicate that, what- 
ever modern custom may be, the Arabs of Muhammad’s time indulged 
very freely in camels’ flesh. E. M. W. 





1 Vide Poe. Spec., p. 87; Bochart, 2 Voyage dans la Palest., p. 220, 
Hierozoic., 1. 2, c. I. &e. 


58 | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SECI Tz 


whom they receive as friends; on the contrary, the strictest 
probity is observed in their camp, where everything is 
open and nothing ever known to be stolen.* * 

The sciences The sciences the Arabians chiefly cultivated before 


in Arabia 
previous to Muhammadism were three—that of their genealogies and 


nee ‘history, such a knowledge of the stars as to foretell the 
changes of weather, and the interpretation of dreams.” 
They used to value themselves excessively on account 
of the nobility of their families, and so many disputes 
happened on that occasion, that it is no wonder if they 
took great pains in settling their descents. What know- 
ledge they had of the stars was gathered from long experi- 
ence, and not from any regular study or astronomical rules. 
The Arabians, as the Indians also did, chiefly applied 
themselves to observe the fixed stars, contrary to other 
nations, whose observations were almost confined to the 


* That this statement is incorrect is evident from the following 
remarks in Burckhardt’s Notes on the Bedouins and Wahhabys, vol. 1. 
pp. 157, 158 :—“ The Arabs may be styled a nation of robbers, whose 
principal occupation is plunder, the constant subject of their thoughts. 
But we must not attach to this practice the same notions of crimi- 
nality that we entertain respecting highwaymen, housebreakers, and 
thieves in Europe. The Arabian robber considers his profession as 
honourable, and the term haramy (robber) is one of the most flatter- 
ing titles that could be conferred on a youthful hero, The Arab 
robs his enemies, his friends, and his neighbours, provided that they 
are not actually in his own tent, where their property is sacred. To 
rob in the camp or among friendly tribes is not reckoned creditable 
to a man, yet no stain remains upon him for such an action, which, 
in fact, is of daily occurrence. But the Arab chiefly prides hie 
on robbing his enemies, and on bringing away by stealth what he 
could not Taye taken by open force. The Bedouins have reduced 
robbery in all its branches to a complete and regular system, which 
offers many interesting details.” 

For these details the reader is referred to the excellent work from 
which the above is quoted, Lane’s Kurdn, note to p. 49. E. M. W. 





1 Voyage dans la Palest., p. 213, 2 Al Shahristdéni, apud Poe. Orat., 
&e. ubi sup., p. 9, and Spec., p. 164. 
3 Abulfarag, p. 161. 


oe 


SEC. I.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 59 


planets, and they foretold their effects from their influences, 
not their nature; and hence, as has been said, arose the 
difference of the idolatry of the Greeks and Chaldeans, 
who chiefly worshipped the planets, and that of the Indians, 
who worshipped the fixed stars. The stars or asterisms 
they most usually foretold the weather by were those they 
called Anwa, or the houses of the moon. These are twenty- 
eight in number, and divide the zodiac into as many parts, 
through one of which the moon passes every night; as 
some of them set in the morning, others rise opposite to 
them, which happens every thirteenth night; and from 
their rising and setting, the Arabs, by long experience, 
observed what changes happened in the air, and at length, 
as -has been said, came to ascribe divine power to them; 
saying that their rain was from such or such a star; which 
expression Muhammad condemned, and absolutely forbade 
them to use it in the old sense, unless they meant no 
more by it than that Gop had so ordered the seasons, 
that when the moon was in such or such a mansion or 
house, or at the rising or setting of such and such a star, 
it should rain or be windy, hot or cold? 

The old Arabians, therefore, seem to have made no 
further progress in astronomy, which science they after- 
wards cultivated. with so much success and applause,* 





* R. Bosworth Smith, in his Lectures on Muhammad and Mu- 
hammadanism, p. 216, makes the following statement on this 
subject :— 

‘During the dark period of European history, the Arabs for five 
hundred years held up the torch of learning to humanity. It was 
the Arabs who then ‘called the Muses from their ancient seats ;’ 
who collected and translated the writings of the Greek masters ; who 
understood the geometry of Apollonius, and wielded the weapons 
found in the logical armoury of Aristotle. It was the Arabs who 
developed the sciences of agriculture and astronomy, and created 
those of algebra and chemistry; who adorned their cities with 


1 ‘Vide Hyde in not. ad Tabulas stellar fixar. Ulugh Beigh, p. 5. | 
2 Vide Poc. Spee., p. 163, &c. 


60 . THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. I. 


than to observe the influence of the stars on the weather 
and to give them names; and this it was obvious for them 
to do, by reason of their pastoral way of life, lying night 
and day in the open plains. The names they imposed on 
the stars generally alluded to cattle and flocks, and they 
were so nice in distinguishing them, that no language has 
so many names of stars and asterisms as the Arabic; for 
though they have since borrowed the names of several 
constellations from the Greeks, yet the far greater part are 
of their own growth, and much more ancient, particularly 
those of the more conspicuous stars, dispersed in several 
constellations, and those of the lesser constellations which 
are contained within the greater, and were not observed 
or named by the Greeks. 

Thus have I given the most succinct account I have been 
able of the state of the ancient Arabians before Muham- 
mad, or, to use their expression, in the time of ignorance. 
I shall now proceed briefly to consider the state of religion 
in the East, and of the two great empires which divided 
that part of the world between them at the time of Mu- 
hammad’s setting up for a prophet, and what were the 
conducive circumstances and accidents that favoured his 
success. 


colleges and libraries, as well as with mosques and palaces; who — 
supplied Europe with a school of philosophers from Cordova, and a 
school of physicians from Salerno.” 

This expresses the opinion of a numerous class of modern writers 
on Islam. But, whilst according to the Arabs all praise for what 
they did towards the preservation and advancement of learning 
during the dark ages, we cannot see that astronomy, as a science, owes 
much to Arab genius, As in regard to philosophical learning and 
medical science, so in regard to astronomy, it may be fairly said 
that the Muslims did not improve on their Greek masters. They 
never succeeded in elevating it out of the region of astrology. 

On this question, see Arnold’s Islam and Christianity, pp. 233-236. 

E. M. W. 





1 Vide Hyde, ubi sup., p. 4. 


Caer) 


Ser DON CLE 


OF THE STATE OF CHRISTIANITY, PARTICULARLY OF THE EASTERN 
CHURCHES, AND OF JUDAISM, AT THE TIME OF MUHAMMAD’S 
APPEARANCE 5; AND OF THE METHODS TAKEN BY HIM FOR THE 
ESTABLISHING HIS RELIGION, AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH 
CONCURRED THERETO. 


_ Ir we look into the ecclesiastical historians even from the The decline 
third century, we shall find the Christian world to have gion tea 
then had a very different aspect from what some authors 
have represented; and so far from being endued with 
active graces, zeal, and devotion, and established within 
itself with purity of doctrine, union, and firm profession 
of the faith, that on the contrary, what by the ambition 
of the clergy, and what by drawing the abtrusest niceties 
into controversy, and dividing and subdividing about them 
into endless schisms and contentions, they had so de- 
stroyed that peace, love, and charity from among them 
which the Gospel was given to promote, and instead 
thereof continually provoked each. other to that malice, 
rancour, and every evil work, that they had lost the 
whole substance of their religion, while they thus eagerly 
contended for their own imaginations concerning it, and 
in a manner quite drove Christianity out of the world by 
those very controversies in which they disputed with each 
other about it.2 In these dark ages it was that most of 
those superstitions and corruptions we now justly abhor 





1 Ricaut’s State of the Ottoman 2 Prideaux’s Preface to his Life of 
Empire, p. 187, Mahomet, 


Controver- 
sies in the 
Eastern 

Churches, 


and corrup- 


tion of the 
clergy. 


62 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC Ih 


in the Church of Rome were not only broached but 
established, which gave great advantages to the propa- 
gation of Muhammadism. The worship of saints and 
images, in particular, was then arrived at such a scanda- 
lous pitch that it even surpassed whatever is now practised 
among the Romanists.! 

After the Nicene Council, the Eastern Church was 
engaged in perpetual controversies, and torn to pieces by 
the disputes of the Arians, Sabellians, Nestorians, and 
Eutychians, the heresies of the two last of which have 
been shown to have consisted more in the words and form 
of expression than in the doctrines themselves,? and 
were rather the pretences than real motives of those fre- 
quent councils to and from which the contentious prelates 
were continually riding post, that they might bring every- 
thing to their own will and pleasure. And to support 
themselves by dependants and bribery, the clergy in any 
credit at court undertook the protection of some officer in 
the army, under the colour of which justice was publicly 
sold and all corruption encouraged. 

In the Western Church Damasus and Ursicinus carried 
their contests at Rome for the episcopal seat so high, that 
they came to open violence and murder, which Viventius, 
the governor, not being able to suppress, he retired into 
the country, and left them to themselves, till Damasus 
prevailed. It is said that on this occasion, in the church 
of Sicininus, there were no less than one hundred and 
thirty-seven found killed in one day. And no wonder 
they were so fond of these seats, when they became by 
that means enriched by the presents of matrons, and went 
abroad in their chariots and sedans in great state, feasting 
sumptuously even beyond the luxury of princes, quite 





1 Vide La Vie de Mahommed, 3 Ammian. Marcellin., 1.21. Vide 
par Boulainvilliers, p. 219, &c. etiam Euseb., Hist. Eccles., 1. 8,:c. 1. 

2 Vide Simon, Hist. Crit. de la Sozom., 1. 1, ¢. 14, &. Hilar. et 
Créance, &c., des Nations du Le- Sulpic. Sever. in Hist. Sacr., p. 
vant, 112, &e, 


SEG#II. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 63 


contrary to the way of living of the country prelates, 
who alone seemed to have some temperance and modesty 
left. 
These dissensions were greatly owing to the emperors, kvil in- 


fluence of 


and particularly to Constantius, who, confounding the Roman | 
pure and simple Christian religion with anile supersti- the church. 
tions, and perplexing it with intricate questions, instead 
of reconciling different opinions, excited many disputes, 
which he fomented as they proceeded with infinite alter- 
cations.2. This grew worse in the time of Justinian, who, 
not to be behind the bishops of the fifth and sixth 
centuries in zeal, thought it no crime to condemn to death 
a man of a different persuasion from his own.? 

This corruption of doctrine and morals in the princes 
and clergy was necessarily followed by a general depravity 
of the people;* those of all conditions making it their 
sole business to get money by any means, and then to 
squander it away when they had got it in luxury and 
debauchery.® | 

But, to be more particular as to the nation we are now Arabia 
writing of, Arabia was of old famous for heresies,° which pala o 
might be in some measure attributed to the liberty and 
independency of the tribes. Some of the Christians of 
that nation believed the soul died with the body, and was 
to be raised again with it at the last day:’ these Origen is 
said to have convinced. Among the Arabs it was that the 
heresies of Ebion, Beryllus, and the Nazareeans,® and also 
that of the Collyridians, were broached, or at least pro- 
pagated ; the latter introduced the Virgin Mary for Gop, 
or worshipped her as such, offering her a sort of twisted 
cake called collyris, whence the sect had its name.’ 





1 Ammian. Marcellin., lib. 27. ° Vide Boulainvil., Viede Mahom., 

2 Idem, 1. 21. ubi sup. 

3 Procop. in Anecd., p. 60. 6 Vide Sozomen., Hist. Hccles., 1. 1, 

4 See an instance of the wicked- oc. 16,17. Sulpic. Sever., ubi supra. 
ness of the Christian army, even 7 Kuseb., Hist. Eccles., 1. 6, c. 33. 
when they were under the terror of 8 Idem ibid., c. 37. 


the Saracens, in Ockley’s Hist. of 9 Epiphan. de Heres., 1.2; Her. 40. 
the Sarac., vol. i. p. 239. 10 Idem ibid., 1.3; Heeres., 75, 79. 


Mariolatry 
and the doc- 
trine of the 
Trinity. 


Arabia re- 
fuge for 
heretics. 


The power 
of the Jews 
in Arabia, 
and Muham- 
mad’s treat- 
ment of 
them. 


64. THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. (SEC si, 


This notion of the divinity of the Virgin Mary was also 
believed by some at the Council of Nice, who said there 
were two gods besides the Father, viz., Christ and the 
Virgin Mary, and were thence named Mariamites.1 Others 
imagined her to be exempt from humanity and deified ; 
which goes but little beyond the Popish superstition in 
calling her the complement of the Trinity, as if it were © 
imperfect without her. This foolish imagination is justly 
condemned in the Quran? as idolatrous, and gave a handle 
to Muhammad to attack the Trinity itself* 

Other sects there were of many denominations within 
the borders of Arabia, which took refuge there from the 
proscriptions of the imperial edicts, several of whose 
notions Muhammad incorporated with his religion, as may 
be observed hereafter. 

Though the Jews were an inconsiderable and despised 
people in other parts of the world, yet in Arabia, whither 
many of them fled from the destruction of Jerusalem, they 
erew very powerful, several tribes and princes embracing 
their religion; which made Muhammad at first show great 
regard to them, adopting many of their opinions, doctrines, 
and customs, thereby to draw them, if possible, into his 
interest. But that people, agreeably to their wonted ob- 
stinacy, were so far from being his proselytes, that they 
were some of the bitterest enemies he had, waging con- 
tinual war with him, so that their reduction cost him 
infinite trouble and danger, and at last his hfe. This 
aversion of theirs created at length as great a one in him 
to them, so that he used them, for the latter part of his 
life, much worse than he did the Christians, and fre- 
quently exclaims against them in his Quran. His followers 
to this day observe the same difference between them and 


* A careful study of the Quran will show that this is the only 
conception of a: Trinity which found a place in Muhammad’s mind. 
_E. M. W. 


1 Elmacin. Eutych. 2 Cap. 5, Vv. 77- 


SEC. Il.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 65 


the Christians, treating the former as the most abject and 
contemptible people on earth. | 

It has been observed by a great politician,’ that it is Islam sue- 
impossible a person should make himself a prince and religions 
found a state without opportunities. If the distracted Titles wes 
state of religion favoured the designs of Muhammad on ne 
that side, the weakness of the Roman and Persian mon- 
archies might flatter him with no less hopes in any 
attempt on those once formidable empires, either of 
which, had they been in their full vigour, must have 
crushed Muhammadism in its birth; whereas nothing 
nourished it more than the success the Arabians met with 
in their enterprises against those powers, which success 
they failed not to attribute to their new religion and the 
divine assistance thereof. 

The Roman empire declined apace after Constantine, Deolindas 
whose successors were for the generality remarkable for empire. 
their ill qualities, especially cowardice and cruelty. By 
Muhammad’s time, the western half of the empire was 
overrun by the Goths, and the eastern so reduced by the 
Huns on the one side and the Persians on the other, that 
it was not in a capacity of stemming the violence of a 
powerful invasion. The Emperor Maurice paid tribute to 
the Khagan or king of the Huns; and after Phocas had 
murdered his master, such lamentable havoc there was 
among the soldiers, that when Heraclius came, not above 
seven years after, to muster the army, there were only 
two soldiers left alive of all those who had borne arms 
when Phocas first usurped the empire. And though Herac- 
lius was a prince of admirable courage and conduct, and 
had done what possibly could be done to restore the dis- 
cipline of the army, and had had great success against 
the Persians, so as to drive them not only out of his own 
dominions, but even out of part of their own; yet still the 
very vitals of the empire seemed to be mortally wounded, 


1 Machiavelli, Princ., c. 6, p. 19. 


66 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC.an 


that there could no time have happened more fatal to the 
empire or more favourable to the enterprises of the Arabs, 
who seem to have been raised up on purpose by Gop 
to. be a scourge to the Christian Church for not living 
answerably to that most holy religion which they had 
received. 

The general luxury and degeneracy of manners into 
which the Grecians were sunk also contributed not a little 
to the enervating their forces, which were still further 
drained by those two great destroyers, monachism and 
persecution, 

The com. The Persians had also been in a declining condition for 

Mazdak. some time before Muhammad, occasioned chiefly by their 
intestine broils and dissensions, great part of which arose 
from the devilish doctrines of Manes and Mazdak. The 
opinions of the former are tolerably well known: the 
latter lived in the reign of Khusru Kobad, and pretended 
himself a prophet sent from Gop to preach a community 
of women and possessions, since all men were brothers 
and descended from the same common parents. This he 
imagined would put an end to all feuds and quarrels 
among men, which generally arose on account of one of 
the two. Kobad himself embraced the opinions of this 
impostor, to whom he gave leave, according to his new 
doctrine, to lie with the queen his wife; which permission 
Anushirwan, his son, with much difficulty prevailed on 
Mazdak not to make use of. These sects had certainly 
been the immediate ruin of the Persian empire, had not 
Anushirwan, as soon as he succeeded his father, put Maz- 
dak to death with all his followers, and the Manicheans 
also, restoring the ancient Magian religion.? 

In the reign of this prince, deservedly surnamed the 
Just, Muhammad was born. He was the last king of 
Persia who deserved the throne, which after him was 





1 Ockley’s Hist. of the Saracens, vol. i. p. 19, &c. 
2 Vide Poe, Spec., p. 70, 


SEC. II.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 67 


almost perpetually contended for, till subverted by the 
Arabs. His son Hormuz lost the love of his subjects by 

his excessive cruelty: having had his eyes put out by his 

wife’s brothers, he was obliged to resign the crown to his 

son Khusru Parviz, who at the instigation of Bahrdm 
Chubin had rebelled against him, and was afterwards 
strangled. Parviz was soon obliged to quit the throne to 
Bahram, but obtaining succours of the Greek emperor 
Maurice, he recovered the crown; yet towards the latter 

end of a long reign he grew so tyrannical and hateful to 

his subjects, that they held private correspondence with 

the Arabs, and he was at length deposed, imprisoned, and 

slain by his son Shiruyah.! After Parviz no less than six 
princes possessed the throne in less than six years. These Dectine of 
domestic broils effectually brought ruin upon the Persians; Sani saall 
for though they did rather by the weakness of the Greeks 

than their own force ravage Syria and sack Jerusalem 

and Damascus under Khusrui Parviz, and, while the Arabs 

were divided and independent, had some power in the 
province of Yaman, where they set up the four last kings 

before Muhammad; yet, when attacked by the Greeks 

under Heraclius, they not only lost their new conquests, 

but part of their own dominions; and no sooner were the 

Arabs united by Muhammadism, than they beat them in 

every battle, and in a few years totally subdued them. 

As these empires were weak and declining, so Arabia, tne political 


power of 


at Muhammad’s setting up, was strong and flourishing ; Avabia con- 
having been peopled at the expense of the Grecian empire, mndenie 
whence the violent proceedings of the domineering sects *“"™"* 
forced many to seek refuge in a free country, as Arabia 

then was, where they who could not enjoy tranquillity and 

their conscience at home found a secure retreat. The 
Arabians were not only a populous nation, but unac- 
quainted with the luxury and delicacies of the Greeks 

and Persians, and inured to hardships of all sorts, living 








1 Vide Teixeira, Relaciones de los Reyes de Persia, p. 195, &c. 


Muham- 
mad’s birth, 
nurture, 
marriage, 
and fortune. 


68 THE PREEIMINARY DISCOURSE. [sxc. iD 


in a most parsimonious manner, seldom eating any flesh, 
drinking no wine, and sitting on the ground. Their poli- 
tical government was also such as favoured the designs 
of Muhammad; for the division and independency of their 
tribes were so necessary to the first propagation of his 
religion and the foundation of his power, that it would 
have been scarce possible for him to have effected either | 
had the Arabs been united in one society. But when 
they had embraced his religion, the consequent union of 
their tribes was no less necessary and conducive to their 
future conquests and grandeur. 

This posture of public affairs in the Eastern world, both 
as to its religious and political state, it is more than pro- 
bable Muhammad was well acquainted with, he having 
had sufficient opportunities of informing himself in those 
particulars in his travels as a merchant in his younger 
years; and though it is not to be supposed his views at 
first were so extensive as afterwards, when they were 
enlarged by his good fortune, yet he might reasonably 
promise himself success in his first attempts from thence. 
As he was a man of extraordinary parts and address, 
he knew how to make the best of every incident, and 
turn what might seem dangerous to another to his own 
advantage. 

Muhammad came into the world under some disad- 
vantages, which he soon surmounted. His father, Abdallah, 
was a younger son? of Abd al Mutallib, and dying very 
young and in his father’s lifetime, left his widow and in- 
fant son in very mean circumstances, his whole substance 
consisting but of five camels and one Ethiopian she-slave.? 
Abd al Mutallib was therefore obliged to take care of his 
erandchild Muhammad, which he not only did during his 








1 He was not his eldest son,as Dr. M. de Boulainvilliers (Vie de Ma- 
Prideaux tells us, whose reflections hommed, p. 182, &.) supposes ; for 
built on that foundation must neces- Hamza and al Abbds were both 
sarily fail (see his Life of Mahomet, younger than Abdallah. 

p- 9); nor yet his youngest son, as + Abulfeda, Vit. Moham., p. 2. 


SEC. II.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 69 


life, but at his death enjoined his eldest son, Abu Talib, 
who was brother to Abdallah by the same mother, to 
provide for him for the future; which he very affection- 
ately did, and instructed him in the business of a mer- 
chant, which he followed ; and to that end he took him with 
him into Syria when he was but thirteen, and afterward 
recommended him to Khadfjah, a noble and rich widow, 
for her factor, in whose service he behaved himself so well, 
that by making him her husband she soon raised him to 
an equality with the richest in Makkah. 

After he began by this advantageous match to live at He forms 

5 Z $ ‘ he design 
his ease it was that he formed a scheme of establishing uate 
a new religion, or, as he expressed it, of replanting the a 
only true and ancient one, professed by Adam, Noah, mez. y 
Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and all the prophets,’ by destroy- 
ing the gross idolatry into which the generality of his 
countrymen had fallen, and weeding out the corruptions 
and superstitions which the latter Jews and Christians 
had, as he thought, introduced into their religion, and 
reducing it to its original purity, which consisted chiefly 
in the worship of one only Gop. 

Whether this was the effect of enthusiasm, or only a politeness 
design to raise himself to the supreme government of his motives Of, 
country, I will not pretend to determine. The latter is 
the general opinion of Christian writers, who agree that 
ambition and the desire of satisfying his sensuality were 
the motives of his undertaking. It may be so, yet his first 
views, perhaps, were not sointerested. His original design 
of bringing the pagan Arabs to the knowledge of the true 
Gop was certainly noble, and highly to be commended ; 
for I cannot possibly subscribe to the assertion of a late 
learned writer,” that he made that nation exchange their 
idolatry for another religion altogether as bad. Muham- 
mad was no doubt fully satisfied in his conscience of the 
truth of his grand point, the unity of Gop, which was what 





1 See Quran, c. 2. 2 Prideaux’s Life of Mahomet, p. 76. 


70 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. ofa 


he chiefly attended to; all his other doctrines and institu- 
tions being rather accidental and unavoidable than pre- 
His hold on meditated and designed. Since, then, Muhammad was 
of the unity certainly himself persuaded of his grand article of faith, 
ee which, in his opinion, was violated by all the rest of the 
world, not only by the idolaters, but by the Christians, as 
well those who rightly worshipped Jesus as Gop, as those ~ 
who superstitiously adored the Virgin Mary, saints, and 
images; and also by the Jews, who are accused in the 
Quran of taking Ezra for the son of Gop;? it is easy to 
conceive that he might think it a meritorious work to 
rescue the world from such ignorance and superstition ; 
and by degrees, with the help of a warm imagination, 
which an Arab seldom wants,” to suppose himself destined 
by Providence for the effecting that great reformation. 
And this fancy of his might take still deeper root in his 
mind during the solitude he thereupon affected, usually 
retiring for a month in the year to a cave in Mount Hira, 
near Makkah. One thing which may be probably urged 
against the enthusiasm of this prophet of the Arabs is 
the wise conduct and great prudence he all along showed 
in pursuing his design, which seem inconsistent with the 
Probably a Wild notions of a hot-brained religionist. But though all 
mania on, enthusiasts or madmen do not behave with the same 
ofreligion. gravity and circumspection that he did, yet he will not be 
the first instance, by several, of a person who has been out 
of the way only quoad hoc, and in all other respects acted 
with the greatest decency and precaution.* 

The terrible destruction of the Eastern Churches, once 
so glorious and flourishing, by the sudden spreading of 
Muhammadism, and the great successes of its professors 
against the Christians, necessarily inspire a horror of that 


* For a most able and satisfactory exposition of the character of 
Muhammad, we refer the reader to Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. iv. 
chap. Xxxvil. E. M. W. 


t/Quran, ¢: 10. v.37. 2 See Casaub. of Enthusiasm, p. 148. 


SEC. II. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. ve! 


religion in those to whom it has been so fatal; and no 
wonder if they endeavour to set the character of its founder 
and its doctrines in the most infamous light. But the 
damage done by Muhammad to Christianity seems to have 
been rather owing to his ignorance than malice; for his He was 
great misfortune was his not having a competent know- ie oard a 
ledge of the real and pure doctrines of the Christian the Chris : 
religion, which was in his time so abominably corrupted, Ripe 
that it is not surprising if he went too far, and resolved to 
abolish what he might think incapable of reformation. 
It is scarce to be doubted but that Muhammad had a His natural 
violent desire of being reckoned an extraordinary person, iaMlammechig 
which he could attain to by no means more effectually 
than by pretending to be a messenger sent from Gop to 
inform mankind of his will. This might be at first his 
utmost ambition; and had his fellow-citizens treated him 
less injuriously, and not obliged him by their persecutions 
to seek refuge elsewhere, and to take up arms against 
them in his own defence, he had perhaps continued a 
private person, and contented himself with the veneration 
and respect due to his prophetical office; but being once 
got at the head of a little army, and encouraged by 
success, it is no wonder if he raised his thoughts to 
attempt what had never before entered into his imagi- 
nation. 

That Muhammad was, as the Arabs are by complexion,! wis sensu- 
a great lover of women, we are assured by his own con- doctrine of 
fession; and he is constantly upbraided with it by the epee es 
controversial writers, who fail not to urge the number MOR ite of 
of women with whom he had to do, as a demonstra- hs t™ 
tive argument of his sensuality, which they think suffi- 
ciently proves him to have been a wicked man, and con- 
sequently an impostor. But it must be considered that 
polygamy, though it be forbidden by the Christian reli- 


gion, was in Muhammad’s time frequently practised in 





1 Ammian Marcell. 1. 14, c. 4. 


A tolerable 
morality 
‘was neces- 
sary to the 
success of 
his enter- 
prise. 


72 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. Ih 


Arabia and other parts of the East, and was not counted 
an immorality, nor was a man worse esteemed on that 
account; for which reason Muhammad permitted the 
plurality of wives, with certain hmitations, among his 
own followers, who argue for the lawfulness of it from 
several reasons, and particularly from the examples of 
persons allowed on all hands to have been good men, 
some of whom have been honoured with the divine 
correspondence. ‘The several laws relating to marriages 
and divorces, and the peculiar privileges granted to Mu- 
hammad in his Quran, were almost all taken by him from 
the Jewish decisions, as will appear hereafter; and there- 
fore he might think those institutions the more just and 
reasonable, as he found them practised or approved by 
the professors of a religion which was confessedly of 
divine original, 

But whatever were his motives, Muhammad had cer- 
tainly the personal qualifications which were necessary to 
accomplish his ‘undertaking. The Muhammadan authors 
are excessive in their commendations of him, and speak 
much of his religious and moral virtues; as his piety, 
veracity, justice, liberality, clemency, humility, and absti- 
nence. His charity in particular, they say, was so con- 
spicuous, that he had seldom any money in his house, 
keeping no more for his own use than was just sufficient 
to maintain his family; and he frequently spared even - 
some part of his own provisions to supply the necessities 
of the poor ; so that before the year’s end he had generally 
little or nothing ‘left “Gop,” says al Bokhari, “ offered 
him the keys of the treasures of the earth, but he would 
not accept them.” Though the eulogies of these writers 
are justly to be suspected of partiality, yet thus much, I 
think, may be inferred from thence, that for an Arab who 
had been educated in Paganism, and had but a very im- 
perfect knowledge of his duty, he was a man of at least 








1 Vide Abulfeda Vit. Moham., p. 144, &c, 


SEC. I] | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. “93 


tolerable morals, and not such a monster of wickedness as 
he is usually represented. And indeed it is scarce possible 
to conceive that a wretch of so profligate a character 
should ever have succeeded in an enterprise of this 
nature; a little hypocrisy and saving of appearances, at 
least, must have been absolutely necessary; and the sin- 
cerity of his intentions is what I pretend not to inquire 
into, 

He had indisputably a very piercing and sagacious wit, His intellec-” 
and was thoroughly versed in all the arts of insinuation.! cree: 
The Eastern historians describe him to have been a%™""™ 
man of an excellent judgment and a happy memory; 
and these natural parts were improved by a great ex- 
perience and knowledge of men, and the observations he 
had made in his travels. They say he was a person of 
few words, of an equal, cheerful temper, pleasant and 
familiar in conversation, of inoffensive behaviour towards 
his friends, and of great condescension towards his in- 
feriors.2 To all which were joined a comely agreeable 
person and a polite address; accomplishments of no small 
service in preventing those in his favour whom he attemp- 
ted to persuade. 

As to acquired learning, it is confessed he had none His igno- 
at all; having had no outer education than what was eee cae 
cannes in his tribe, who neglected, and perhaps de- aad oft 
spised, what we call literature, esteeming no language in 
comparison with their own, their skill in which they 
gained by use and not by books, and contenting them- 
selves with improving their private experience by com- 
mitting to memory such passages of their poets as they 
judged might be of use to them in life. This defect was 
so far from being prejudicial or putting a stop to his de- 
sign, that he made the greatest use of it; insisting that the 
writings which he produced as revelations from Gop could 
not possibly be a forgery of his own, because it was not 


1 Vide Prid. Life of Mahomet, p. 105. 2 Vide Abulfeda, ubi supra. 


His scheme 
for the inau- 
guration of 
his religion. 


He begins 
with the 

conversion 
of his own 
household. 


74, THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. II. 


conceivable that a person who could neither write nor 
read should be able to compose a book of such excellent 
doctrine and in so elegant a style, and thereby obviating 
an objection that might have carried a great deal of weight.1 
And for this reason his followers, instead of being ashamed 
of their master’s ignorance, glory in it, as an evident proof 
of his divine mission, and scruple not to call him (as he is 
indeed called in the Quran itself *) the “illiterate prophet.” 

The scheme of religion which Muhammad framed, and 
the design and artful contrivance of those written revela- 
tions (as he pretended them to be) which compose his 
Quran, shall be the subject of the following sections: I 
shall therefore in the remainder of this relate, as briefly 
as possible, the steps he took towards the effecting of 
his enterprise, and the accidents which concurred to his 
success therein. 

Before he made any attempt abroad, he rightly judged 
that it was necessary for him to begin by the conversion 
of his own household. Having therefore retired with his 
family, as he had done several times before, to the above- 
mentioned cave in Mount Hira, he there opened the secret 
of his mission to his wife Khadijah, and acquainted her 
that the Angel Gabriel had just before appeared to him, 
and told him that he was appointed the apostle of God: 
he also repeated to her a passage? which he pretended had 
been revealed to him by the ministry of the angel, with 
those other circumstances of his first appearance which 
are related by the Muhammadan writers. Khadijah re- 
ceived the news with great joy,4 swearing by him in 
whose hands her soul was that she trusted he would 
be the prophet of his nation, and immediately commu- 
nicated what she had heard to her cousin, Waraga Ibn 


1 See Quran, c. 29, v. 47. Prid. 4 T do not remember to have read 
Life of Mahomet, p. 28, Kc. in any Eastern author that Khadijah 
2 Ohae ever rejected her husband’s pretences 


3 This passage is generally agreed as delusions, or suspected him of any 
to be the first five verses of the 96th imposture. Yet see Prideaux’s Life 
chapter, of Mahomet, p. 11, &c. 


ae? 


SeCii-|* JHE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 75 


Naufal, who, being a Christian, could write in the Hebrew 
character, and was tolerably well versed in the Scriptures ; } 
and he as readily came into her opinion, assuring her that 
the same angel who had formerly appeared unto Moses 
was now sent to Muhammad. This first overture the 
prophet made in the month of Ramadhan, in the fortieth 
year of his age, which is therefore usually called the year 
of his mission. 

Encouraged by so good a beginning, he resolved to pro- secret 
ceed, and try for some time what he could do by private vring. 
persuasion, not daring to hazard the whole affair by 
exposing it too suddenly to the public. He soon made 
proselytes of those under his own roof, viz., his wife 
Khadijah, his servant Zaid Ibn Harith (to whom he 
gave his freedom? on that occasion, which afterwards 
became a rule to his followers *), and his cousin and 
pupil Ali, the son of Abu Talib, though then very young ; 
but this last, making no account of the other two, used to 
style himself the “first of believers.” The next person 
Muhammad applied to was Abdallah Ibn Abi Kuhafa, 
surnamed Abu Baqr, a man of great authority among the 
(Juraish, and one whose interest he well knew would be 
of great service to him, as it soon appeared; for Abu Baqr Gains other 
being gained over, prevailed also on Othman Ibn Affain, res 
Abd al Rahmén Ibn Awf, Saad Ibn Abi Wakkas, Al Zubair 7” 


u- 





* Lane calls attention to the fact that “the conversion of a person 
after he has been made a slave does not entitle him to, and seldom 
obtains for him, his freedom.” The “followers” of Muhammad 
referred to in the text probably designates only those who were his 
contemporaries. Certainly the “rule” is not observed by the holders 
of slaves, black and white, in Turkey, Egypt, and other regions under 
Muslim government. E. M. W. 











1 ‘Vide Poc. Spec., p. 157. 3 For he was his purchased slave, 
2 Vide Abulfeda,:Vit. Moham.,p. as Abulfeda expressly tells us, and 
16, where the learned translator has not his cousin-german, as M. de 
mistaken the meaning of this pas- Boulainvilliers asserts (Vie de Mah., 


sage. Deer ai 


At the end 
of three 
years he 
openly pro- 
claims his 
doctrine. 


His rela- 
tives reject 
his prophe- 
tic claims. 


76 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. II. 


Ibn al Awam, and Talha Ibn Obaidullah, all principal 
men in Makkah, to follow his example. These men were 
the six chief companions, who, with a few more, were con- 
verted in the space of three years, at the end of which 
Muhammad, having, as he hoped, a sufficient interest to 
support him, made his mission no longer a secret, but 


gave out that Gop had commanded him to admonish his | 


near relations ;/ and in order to do it with more conveni- 
ence and prospect of success, he directed Ali to prepare 
an entertainment, and invite the sons and descendants 
of Abd al Mutallib, intending then to open his mind to 
them. This was done, and about forty of them came ; but 
Abu Lahab, one of his uncles, making the company break 
up before Muhammad had an opportunity of speaking, 
obliged him to give them a second invitation the next day ; 
and when they were come, he made them the following 
speech: “I know no man in all Arabia who can offer his 
kindred a more excellent thing than I now do you. I 
offer you happiness both in this life and in that which 
is to come. Gop Almighty hath commanded me to call 
you unto him ; who therefore among you will be assisting 
to me herein, and become my brother and my vicegerent ?” 
All of them hesitating and declining the matter, Ali at 
length rose up and declared that he would be his assistant, 
and vehemently threatened * those who should oppose him. 
Muhammad upon this embraced Ali with great demonstra- 
tions of affection, and desired all who were present to 
hearken to and obey him as his deputy, at which the 


* The statement that Ali “vehemently threatened those who should 
oppose” Muhammad is a mistake, which, says Lane (Kurdn, p. 62), 
‘originated with Gagnier, who, in his edition of Abu-l-Fida’s Life of 
Mohammed, has given the original words of this speech with several 
errors, and thus rendered them—‘ Egomet ita faciam ; ego ipse dentes 
illio excutiam, aculos eruam, ventrem dissecabo, crura mutilabo, &e.’ 
(p. 19).” E. M. W. 


1 Quran, c. 74. See the notes thereon. 


SEC ail] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. a7 


company broke out into great laughter, telling Abu Talib 
that he must now pay obedience to his son. 

This repulse, however, was so far from discouraging opposition’ 
Muhammad, that he began to preach in public to the hie pees 
people, who heard him with some patience, till he came 
to upbraid them with the idolatry, obstinacy, and per- 

a verseness of themselves and their fathers, which so highly 
provoked them that they declared themselves his enemies, 

and would soon have procured his ruin had he not been pro- 

tected by Abu Tahb. The chief of the Quraish warmly 

solicited this person to desert his nephew, making frequent 

remonstrances against the innovations he was attempting, 

which proving ineffectual, they at length threatened him 

with an open rupture if he did not prevail on Muhammad 

to desist. At this Abu Talib was so far moved that he 

earnestly dissuaded his nephew from pursuing the affair 

any further, representing the great danger he and his 

friends must otherwise run. But Muhammad was not 

to be intimidated, telling his uncle plainly “that if they 

set the sun against him on his right hand and the moon 

on his left, he would not leave his enterprise; ” and Abu ne is pro- 

Talib, seeing him so firmly resolved to proceed, used no Abu Talib, 

further arguments, but promised to stand by him against 

all his enemies.) 

The Quraish, finding they could prevail neither by fair First emi- 
words nor menaces, tried what they could do by force and operat 
ill-treatment, using Muhammad’s followers so very injuri- 
ously that it was not safe for them to continue at Makkah 
any longer: whereupon Muhammad gave leave to such 
of them as had not friends to protect them to seek for 

_ refuge elsewhere. And accordingly, in the fifth year of 

the prophet’s mission, sixteen of them, four of whom were 

women, fled into Ethiopia ; and among them Othman Ibn 

Affan and his wife Rakiah, Muhammad’s daughter. This 

was the first flight ; but afterwards several others followed 





1 Abulfeda, ubi supra. 


Conversion 
of Hamza 
and Omar, 


Social ostra- 
cism of the 
Hashimites. 


The league 
against 
the Hashi- 
mites 
broken, 


78 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IT. 


them, retiring one after another, to the number of eighty- 
three men and eighteen women, besides children.! These 
refugees were kindly received by the Najashi,? or king of 
Ethiopia, who refused to deliver them up to those whom 
the Quraish sent to demand them, and, as the Arab writers 
unanimously attest, even professed the Muhammadan reli- 
gion. 

In the sixth year of his mission? Muhammad had the 
pleasure of seeing his party strengthened by the con- 
version of his uncle Hamza, a man of great valour and 
merit, and of Omar Ibn al Khattab, a person highly 
esteemed, and once a violent opposer of the prophet. As 
persecution generally advances rather than obstructs the 
spreading of a religion, Islam made so great a progress 
among the Arab tribes, that the Quraish, to suppress it 
effectually, if possible, in the seventh year of Muhammad’s 
mission,t made a solemn league or covenant against the 
Hashimites and the family of al Mutallib, engaging 
themselves to contract no marriages with any of them, 
and to have no communication with them; and to give it 
the greater sanction, reduced it into writing, and laid it 
up in the Kaabah. Upon this the tribe became divided into 
two factions, and the family of Hashim all repaired to 
Abu Talib, as their head, except only Abd al Uzza, sur- 
named Abu Lahab, who, out of his inveterate hatred to 
his nephew and his doctrine, went over to the opposite 
party, whose chief was Abu Sofian Ibn Harb, of the family 
of Ommeya. 

The families continued thus at variance for three years ; 
but in the tenth year of his mission, Muhammad told his 
uncle Abu Talib that God had manifestly showed his disap- 
probation of the league which the Quraish had made against 
them, by sending a worm to eat out every word of the 





1 Tdem, Ibn Shohnah. every king of this country. See his 
2 Dr. Prideaux seems to take this Life of Mahomet, p. 55. 

word for a proper name, but it is 3 Ibn Shohnah, 

only the title the Arabs give to ‘ Al Janndbi. 


al Fr 7 
d ‘ 
a ~~: 
a 


: SEC.1.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. - 79 


instrument except the name of Gop. Of this accident 
Muhammad had probably some private notice; for Abu 
Talib went immediately to the Quraish and acquainted 
them with it; offering, if it proved false, to deliver his 
nephew up to them; but in case it were true, he insisted 
that they ought to lay aside their animosity, and annul 
the league den had made against the Hashimites. To 
this they acquiesced, and going to inspect the writing, to 
their great astonishment Sve it to be as Abu Talib “had 
said ; ral the league was thereupon declared void. 

it the same year Abu Talib died, at the age of above Death of 
fourscore; and it is the general opinion that he died and Khadi- - 
an iecen though others say that when he was at the a, 
point of death he embraced Muhammadism, and pro- 
duce some passages out of his poetical compositions to 
confirm their assertion. About a month, or, as some write, 
three days after the death of this great benefactor and 
patron, Muhammad had the additional mortification to 
lose his wife Khadijah, who had so generously made his 
fortune. For which reason this year is called the year of 
mourning.! 

On the death of these two persons the Quraish began Renewed 
to be more troublesome than ever to their prophet, His ae 
especially some. who had formerly been his intimate 
friends; insomuch that he found himself obliged to seek secksretuge 
for te elsewhere, and first pitched upon Tayif, about a cenetoal 
sixty miles east from Makkah, for the place of his retreat. 

Thither therefore he went, accompanied by his servant 
Zaid, and applied himself to two of the chief of the tribe 
of Thakif, who were the inhabitants of that place; but 
they received them very coldly. However, he stayed there 
a month; and some of the more considerate and better 
sort of men treated him with a little respect; but the 
slaves and inferior people at length rose against him, and 
bringing him to the wall of the city, obliged him to depart 





1 Abulfeda, p. 28. Ibn Shohnah. 


Makes con- 
verts of six 
men of Ma- 
dina. 


Night jour- 
ney from 
Makkah to 
Jerusalem 


and heaven. 


This device 
raises his 
credit. 


80 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IT. 


and return to Makkah, where he put himself under the pro- 
tection of al Mutém Ibn Adi.’ 

This repulse greatly discouraged his followers: however, 
Muhammad was not wanting to himself, but boldly con- 
tinued to preach to the public assemblies at the pilerimage, 
and gained several proselytes, and among them six of the 
inhabitants of Yathrab of the Jewish tribe of Khazraj, — 
who on their return home failed not to speak much in 
commendation of their new religion, and exhorted their 
fellow-citizens to embrace the same. 

In the twelfth year of his mission it was that Muham- 
mad gave out that he had made his night journey from 
Makkah to Jerusalem and thence to heaven,? so much 
spoken of by all that write of him. Dr. Prideaux? thinks 
he invented it either to answer the expectations of those 
who demanded some miracle as a proof of his mission, 
or else, by pretending to have conversed with Gop, to 
establish the authority of whatever he should think fit 
to leave behind by way of oral tradition, and make his 
sayings to serve the same purpose as the oral law of the 
Jews. But I do not find that Muhammad himself ever 
expected so great a regard should be paid to his sayings 
as his followers have since done; and seeing he all along 
disclaimed any power of performing miracles, it seems 
rather to have been a fetch of policy to raise his reputa- 
tion, by pretending to have actually conversed with Gop ~ 
in heaven, as Moses had heretofore done in the mount, and 
to have received several institutions immediately from 
him, whereas before he contented himself with persuading 
that he had all by the ministry of Gabriel. 

However, this story seemed so absurd and incredible, 
that several of his followers left him upon it, and it had 
probably ruined the whole design, had not Abu Bagqr 
vouched for his veracity, and declared that if Muhammad 


1 Tbn Shohnah. 2 See the notes on the 17th chapter of the Qurén. 
3 Life of Mahomet, pp. 41, 51, &c 


~~ 


OO 
ca > 


SEC. I1.] | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. er 


affirmed it to be true, he verily believed the whole. 
This happy incident not only retrieved the prophet’s 
credit, but increased it to such a degree, that he was 
secure of being able to make his disciples swallow what- | 
ever he pleased to impose on them for the future. And I 
am apt to think this fiction, notwithstanding its extrava- 
gance, was one of the most artful contrivances Muhammad 
ever put in practice, and what chiefly contributed to the 
raising of his reputation to that great heiht to which it 
afterwards arrived. 

In this year, called by the Muhammadans the accepted es 

edge of 

year, twelve men of Yathrab or Madina, of whom ten were Aqabah. 
of the tribe of Khazraj, and the other two of that of Aws, 
came to Makkah, and took an oath of fidelity to Muhammad 

at al Aqabah, a hill on the north of that city. This oath 

was called the women’s oath, not that any women were 
present at this time, but because a man was not thereby 
obliged to take up arms in defence of Muhammad or his 
religion; it being the same oath that was afterwards 
exacted of the women, the form of which we have in the 
Quran,! and is to this effect, viz.: “That they should 
renounce all idolatry; that they should not steal, nor 
commit fornication, nor kill their children (as the pagan 
Arabs used to do when they apprehended they should not 

be able to maintain them?), nor forge calumnies; and that 

they should obey the prophet in all things that were 
reasonable.” When they had solemnly engaged to do all 

this, Muhammad sent one of his disciples, named Musab 

Ibn Omair, home with them, to instruct them more fully 

in the grounds and ceremonies of his new religion. 

Musab, being arrived at Madina, by the assistance of Missionary 
those who had been formerly converted, gained several Madina. 
proselytes, particularly Osaid Ibn Hudaira, a chief man 
of the city, and Saad Ibn Muadh, prince of the tribe of 
Aws; Muhammadism spreading so fast, that there was 





Cape OO. Ve 12. 2 Vide Quran, c. 6, v. 151 
E 


The second 
pledge of 
Aqabah. 


Islam thus 
far propa- 
gated by 


persuasion. 


82 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SECAily 


scarce a house wherein there were not some who had 
embraced it. 

The next year, being the thirteenth of Muhammad’s mis- 
sion, Musab returned to Makkah, accompanied by seventy- 
three men and two women of Madina, who had professed 
Islam, besides some others who were as yet unbelievers. 
On their arrival, they immediately sent to Muhammad, 
and offered him their assistance, of which he was now in 
ereat need, for his adversaries were by this time grown so 
powerful in Makkah, that he could not stay there much 
longer without imminent danger. Wherefore he accepted 
their proposal, and met them one night, by appointment, 
at al Aqabah above mentioned, attended by his uncle al 
Abbas, who, though he was not then a believer, wished 
his nephew well, and made a speech to those of Madina, 
wherein he told them, that as Muhammad was obliged to 
quit his native city and seek an asylum elsewhere, and 
they had offered him their protection, they would do well 
not to deceive him; and that if they were not firmly 
resolved to defend and not betray him, they had better 
declare their minds, and let him provide for his safety in 
some other manner. Upon their protesting their sincerity, 
Muhammad swore to be faithful to them, on condition 
that they should protect him against all insults as heartily 
as they would their own wives and families. They then 
asked him what recompense they were to expect if they 
should happen to be killed in his quarrel; he answered, 
Paradise. Whereupon they pledged their faith to him, 
and so returned home,! after Muhammad had chosen 
twelve out of their number, who were to have the same 
authority among them as the twelve apostles of Christ 
had among his disciples.” | 

Hitherto Muhammad had propagated his religion by 
fair means, so that the whole success of his enterprise, 
before his flight to Madina, must be attributed to per- 


1 Abulfeda, Vit. Moham., p. 40, &e. 2 Ibn Ishak. 


SECHII. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 83 


suasion only, and not to compulsion. For before this 
second oath of fealty or inauguration at al Aqabah he had 

no permission to use any force at all; and in several 
places of the Quran, which he pretended were revealed 
during his stay at Makkah, he declares his business was 

only to preach and admonish; that he had no authority 

to compel any person to embrace his religion; and that 
whether people believed or not was none of his concern, 

but belonged solely unto Gop. And he was so far from 
allowing his followers to use force, that he exhorted them 

to bear patiently those injuries which were offered them 

on account of their faith; and when persecuted himself, 
chose rather to quit the place of his birth and retire 

to Madina, than to make any resistance. But this great Munam- 
passiveness and moderation seems entirely owing to his mroderattln 
want of power, and the great superiority of his opposers for Roe sa 
the first twelve years of his mission; for no sooner was he" 
enabled, by the assistance of those of Madina, to make 

head against his enemies, than he gave out that Gop had 
allowed him and his followers to defend themselves against 

the infidels ; and at length, as his forces increased, he pre- 
tended to have the divine leave even to attack them, and 

to destroy idolatry, and set up the true faith by the sword; 
finding by experience that his designs would otherwise 
proceed very slowly, if they were not utterly overthrown, 

and knowing, on the other hand, that innovators, when 

they depend solely on their own strength, and can compel, 
seldom run any risk ; from whence the politician observes 

it follows, that all the armed prophets have succeeded, 

and the unarmed ones have failed.* Moses, Cyrus, The- 


* No sentiment could be further from the truth than this. Jesus 
and Buddha have more followers than any other “ prophets ” to-day. 
Even Isl4m has not depended on the sword for all its successes, 
e.g., the conversion of multitudes of Tartars, Hindus, Africans, &c. 
Judaism was never a religion of the sword, and Christianity has ever 
prospered amidst the fires of persecution, and in spite of the sword. 
But see next paragraph. E. M, W. 


He author- 
ises the en- 
forcement 
of his doc- 
trines by 
the sword. 


The sword 
declares 
Islam to be 
of buman 
origin. 


84 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  jSEC. I. 


seus, and Romulus would not have been able to estab- 
lish the observance of their institutions for any leneth of 
time had they not been armed.! The first passage of the 
Quran which gave Muhammad the permission of defend- 
ing himself by arms is said to have been that in the 
twenty-second chapter; after which a great number to 
the same purpose were revealed. 

That Muhammad had a right to take up arms for his 
own defence against his unjust persecutors may perhaps 
be allowed; but whether he ought afterwards to have 
made use of that means for the establishing of his 
religion is a question I will not here determine. -How far 
the secular power may or ought to interpose in affairs of 
this nature, mankind are not agreed. ‘The method of 
converting by the sword gives no very favourable idea of 
the faith which is so propagated, and is disallowed by 
everybody in those of another religion, though the same 
persons are willing to admit of it for the advancement of 
their own, supposing that though a false religion ought 
not to be established by authority, yet a true one may; 
and accordingly force is almost as constantly employed in 
these cases by those who have the power in their hands, 
as 1t is constantly complained of by those who suffer the 
violence. It is certainly one of the most convincing 
proofs that Muhammadism was no other than a human 
invention that it owed its progress and establishment 


Christianity almost entirely to the sword; and it is one of the strongest 


compared 
with it. 


demonstrations of the divine original of Christianity that 
it prevailed against all the force and powers of the world 
by the mere dint of its own truth, after having stood the- 
assaults of all manner of persecutions, as well as other 
oppositions, for 300 years together, and at length made 
the Roman emperors themselves submit thereto;? after 
which time, indeed, this proof seems to fail, Christianity 


1 Machiavelli, Prine., c. 6. 
1 See Prideaux’s Letter to the Deists, p. 220, Ke. 


BS 


SEC. II.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 85 


being then established and Paganism abolished by public 
authority, which has had great influence in the propagation 
of the one and destruction of the other ever since. But to 
return. 


Muhammad having provided for the security of his com- Emigration 
of usilms 


panions as well as his own by the league offensive and to Madina. 
defensive which he had now concluded with those of 
Madina, directed them to repair thither, which they accord- 
ingly did; but himself with Abu Bagr and Ali stayed 
behind, having not yet received the divine permission, 
as he pruned to leave Makkah. The Quraish, fearing consequent 


excitement 
the consequence of this new alliance, began to think it among the 


absolutely necessary to prevent Muhsenman’s escape to “> 
Madina, and having held a council thereon, after several 
milder expedients had been rejected, they came to a reso- HO oe 


pire against 


lution that he should be killed; and agreed that a man} Muhammad, 
should be chosen out of every irikie foe the execution of 

this design, and that each man should have a blow at him 

with his sword, that the guilt of his blood might fall 

equally on all the tribes, to whose united power the 
Hashimites were much inferior, and therefore durst not 

attempt to revenge their kinsman’s death.* 


* A deputation was sent at this time to Muhammad, but its object 
was not to assassinate him. This has been satisfactorily established 
by Muir in his Life of Mahomet, vol. ii. chap. vi. p. 251. He says, 
“ What was the decision as to SHAE future course of action (z.¢., of 
the Coreish), what the object even of the present deputation, it is 
impossible, amid the hostile and marvellous tales of tradition, to 
conclude. There is little reason to believe that it was assassination, 
although the traditionists assert that this was determined upon at the 
instigation of Abu Jahl, supported by the devil, who, in the person 
of an old man from Najd, shrouded in a mantle, joined the council. 
Mahomet himself, speaking in the Coran of the designs of his 
enemies, refers to them in these indecisive terms—‘ And call to mind 
when the unbelievers plotted against thee, that they might detain thee, or 
slay thee, or expel thee; yea, they plotted, but God plotted likewise, and 





1 See Bayle’s Dict, Hist., Art. Mahomet, Rem. O. 


Muhammad 
escapes to 
Madina. 


86 THE+-PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IT. 


This conspiracy was scarce formed when by some means 
or other it came to Muhammad’s knowledge, and he gave 
out that it was revealed to him by the Angel Gabriel, who 
had now ordered him to retire to Madina. Whereupon, to 
amuse his enemies, he directed Ali to he down in his place 
and wrap himself up in his green cloak, which he did, and 
Muhammad escaped miraculously, as they pretend,! to Abu — 
Baqr’s house, unperceived by the conspirators, who had 
already assembled at the prophet’s door. They in the 
meantime, looking through the crevice and seeing Ali, 
whom they took to be Muhammad himself, asleep, con- 
tinued watching there till morning, when Ali arose, and 
they found themselves deceived. 

From Abu Baqr’s house Muhammad and he went to 
a cave in Mount Thur, to the south-east * of Makkah, 
accompanied only by Amar Ibn Fuhairah, Abu Baqr’s 
servant, and Abdallah Ibn Oraikat, an idolater, whom 
they had hired for a guide. In this cave they lay hid 
three days to avoid the search of their enemies, which 
they very narrowly escaped, and not without the assist- 
ance of more miracles than one; for some say that the 
Quraish were struck with blindness, so that they could 
not find the cave; others, that after Muhammad and his 
companions were got in, two pigeons laid their eggs at the 
entrance, and a spider covered the mouth of the cave with 


God 1s the best of plotters’ (Sura viii. ver. 30). Assuredly had assassina- 
tion been the sentence, and its immediate execution (as pretended by 
tradition) ordered by the council, Mahomet would have indicated 
the fact in clearer language than these alternative expressions. A 
resolution so fatal would unquestionably have been dwelt on at 
length, both in the Coran and traditions, and produced as a justi- 
fication (for such, indeed, it would have been) of all subsequent 


hostilities.” E. M. W. 
* Burckhardt says “south” (Travels in Arabia, p. 176). So Lane 
in Kurd, p. 74. E. M. W. 





1 See the notes to chap. 8 and 36. 


a 


THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. By 


her web, which made them look no further.2* Abu Baqr, 

seeing the prophet in such imminent danger, became very 
sorrowful, whereupon Muhammad comforted him with 

these words, recorded in the Quran:? “ Be not grieved, for 

Gop is with us.” Their enemies being retired, they left 

the cave and set out for Madina by a by-road, and having 
fortunately, or, as the Muhammadans tell us, miraculously, 
escaped some who were sent to pursue them, arrived safely 

at that city, whither Ali followed them in three days, after 

he had settled some affairs at Makkah.‘ ¢ 

The first thmg Muhammad did after his arrival at ne builds a 

Madina was-to build a temple for his religious worship, ian 
and a house for himself, which he did on a parcel of 
eround which had before served to put camels in, or, as 

others tell us, for a burying-ground, and belonged to Sahal 

and Sohail the sons of Amru, who were orphans.® This 

action Dr. Prideaux exclaims against, representing it as a 
flagrant instance of injustice, for that, says he, he violently 


SEC. II.] 





* “The verses in Sura vill. 30, about God plotting so as to deceive 
the Meccans, and in Sura ix. 40, about God assisting the two refugees 
in the cave, have probably given rise to these tales,” Muir’s Life of 
Mahomet, vol, 11. p. 257, note. E. M. W. 

+ “It is the general opinion of our chronologers that the first day 
of the Muslim era. of ‘the Flight’ (or, more properly, ‘ the Emigra- 
tion’) was Friday the 16th of July a.p. 622. . . . This era does not 
commence from the day on which the prophet departed from Mekkeh 
(as is supposed by most of our authors,who have mentioned this 
subject), but from the first day of the moon or month of Moharram 
preceding that event... . The flight itself . . . commenced on the 
22d of September.”—Lane in “ Kurdn,” p. 75. E. M. W. 








1 Tt is observable that the Jews before the Most High Gop, who called 
have a like tradition concerning a spider to weave a web for my sake 
David, when he fled from Saul into in the mouth of the cave.” 


the cave; and the Targum para- 
phrases these words of the second 
verse of Psalm lvii., which was com- 
posed on occasion of that deliver- 
ance: ‘I will pray before the Most 
High Gop that performeth all things 
for me, in this manner ; I will pray 


2 Al Baidhawi in Qurdn, c. 9. 
Vide D’Herbelot, Bibl. Orient., p. 
445. 

3 Cap. 9, v. 40. 

4 Abulfeda, Vit. Moh., p. 50, &c. 
Ebn Shohnah. 

5 ‘Abulfeda, ib. pp. 52, 53. 


Makes pre- 
datory raids 


on the cara- 


vans of the 
Quraish. 


88 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. II. 


dispossessed these poor orphans, the sons of an inferior 
artificer (whom the author he quotes! calls a carpenter) of 
this ground, and so founded the first fabric of his worship 
with the like wickedness as he did his religion.2 But to 
say nothing of the improbability that Muhammad should 
act in so impolitic a manner at his first-coming, the 
Muhammadan writers set this affair in a quite different 
light; one tells us that he treated with the lads about the 
price of the ground, but they desired he would accept it as 
a present ;? however, as historians of good credit assure us, 
he actually bought it,t and the money was paid by Abu 
Baqr.° Besides,had Muhammad accepted it as a present, the 
orphans were in circumstances sufficient to have afforded it ; 
for they were of a very good family, of the tribe of Najjar, 
one of the most illustrious among the Arabs, and not the 
sons of a carpenter, as Dr. Prideaux’s author writes, who 
took the word Najjar, which signifies a carpenter, for an 
appellative, whereas it is a proper name.® 

Muhammad being securely settled at Madina, and able 
not only to defend himself against the insults of his 
enemies, but to attack them, began to send out small 
parties to make reprisals on the Quraish; the first party 
consisting of no more than nine men, who intercepted 
and plundered a caravan belonging to that tribe, and in 
the action took two prisoners. But what established his 
affairs very much, and was the foundation on which he 
built all his succeeding greatness, was the gaining of the 
battle of Badr, which was fought in the second year of the 
Hijra, and is so famous in the Muhammadan history.’ As 
my design is not to write the life of Muhammad, but only 
to describe the manner in which he carried on his enter- 
prise, I shall not enter into any detail of his subsequent 








1 Disputatio Christiani contra > Ahmad Ibn Yusaf. 


Saracen., cap. 4. 6 Vide Gagnier, not. in Abulfed. 
2 Prideaux’s Life of Mahomet, p. de Vit. Moh., pp. 52, 53. 

58. 7 See the notes on the Quran, 
3 Al Bokhari in Sonna. chap. 3, Vv. 13. 


_ # Al Jannabi. 


SEC. U.] | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 89 


battles and expeditions, which amounted to a considerable 
number, Some reckon no less than twenty-seven expedi- 
tions wherein Muhammad was personally present, in nine of 
which he gave battle, besides several other expeditions in 
which he was not present ;+ some of them, however, will be 
necessarily taken notice of in explaining several passages 
of the Quran. His forces he maintained partly by the 
contributions of his followers for this purpose, which he 
called by the name of Zakdt or alms, and the paying of 
which he very artfully made one main article of his 
religion; and partly by ordering a fifth part of the plunder 
to be brought into the public treasury for that purpose, in 
which matter he likewise pretended to act by the divine 
direction. 
In a few years, by the success of his arms (notwithstand- ue goes to 


. 3 . Makkal 
ing he sometimes came off by the worst), he considerably put is not 


raised his credit and power. In the sixth year of the *¢e°°” 
Hijra he set out with 1400 men to visit the temple of 
Makkah, not with any intent of committing hostilities, but 
in a peaceable manner. However, when he came to al 
Hudaibiya, which is situate partly within and partly 
without the sacred territory, the Quraish sent to let him 
know that they would not permit him to enter Makkah, 
unless he forced his way; whereupon he called his troops 
about him, and they all took a solemn oath of fealty or 
homage to him, and he resolved to attack the city; but 
those of Makkah sending Arau Ibn Masud, prince of the 
tribe of Thakif, as their ambassador to desire peace, a 
truce was concluded between them for ten years, by which The ten 

5 ; : years’ truce 
any person was allowed to enter into league either with 
Muhammad or with the Quraish, as he thought fit, 

It may not be improper, to show the inconceivable mustim 
veneration and respect the Muhammadans by this time or thei 
had for their prophet, to mention the account which the?" 
above-mentioned ambassador gave the Quraish, at his 


1 Vide Abulfeda, Vit. Moh., p. 158. 


He sends 
letters 
inviting 
foreign 
princes to 
embrace 
Islam. 


go THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. II. 


return, of their behaviour. He said he had been at the 
courts both of the Roman emperor and of the king of 
Persia, and never saw any prince so highly respected by 
his subjects as Muhammad was by his companions; for 
whenever he made the ablution, in order to say his prayers, 
they ran and catched the water that he had used; and 
whenever he spit, they immediately licked it up, and 
gathered up every hair that fell from him with great 
superstition.1* 

In the seventh year of the Hijra, Muhammad began to 
think of propagating his religion beyond the bounds of 
Arabia, and sent messengers to the neighbouring princes 
with letters to invite them to Muhammadism. Nor was 
this project without some success. Khusru Parviz, then 
king of Persia, received his letter with great disdain, and 
tore it in a passion, sending away the messenger very 
abruptly, which when Muhammad heard, he said, “ Gop 
shall tear his kingdom.” And soon after a messenger 
came to Muhammad from Badhan, king of Yaman, who 
was a dependent on the Persians,” to acquaint him that he 
had received orders to send him to Khusrt. Muhammad 
put off his answer till the next morning, and then told the 
messenger it had been revealed to him that night that 
Khusru was slain by his son Shirtiyih, adding that he was 
well assured his new religion and empire should rise to as 
great a height as that of Khusru, and therefore bid him 
advise his master to embrace Muhammadism. The mes- 
senger being returned, Badhan in a few days received a 
letter from Shirtyih informing him of his father’s death, 
and ordering him to give the prophet no further disturb- 


* These statements are manifest fabrications of a later period. 
Muir says, ‘There is no reason to believe that there was any such 
abject worship of Mahomet during his lifetime.”—Life of Mahomet, 
vol, iv. p. 30. E. M. W. 


1 Abulfeda, Vit. Moh., p. 85. 2 See before, p. 28. 


SEC.I.] | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. or 


ance; whereupon Badhan and the Persians with him turned 
Muhammadans.!* 

The emperor Heraclius, as the Arabian historians assure 
us, received Muhammad’s letter with great respect, laying 
it on his pillow, and dismissed the bearer honourably. 
And some pretend that he would have professed this new 
faith had he not been afraid of losing his crown.? t 

Muhammad wrote to the same effect to the king of 
Ethiopia, though he had been converted before, according 
to the Arab writers; and to Mukaukas, governor of Egypt, 
who gave the messenger a very favourable reception, and 
sent several valuable presents to Muhammad, and among Mukaukas’ 
the rest two girls, one of which, named Mary,’ became a Manan 
great favourite with him. He also sent letters of the like 
purport to several Arab princes, particularly one to al 
Harith Ibn Abi Shamir,* king of Ghassan, who returning 
for answer that he would go to Muhammad himself, the 
prophet said, “May his kingdom perish;” another to 
Haudha Ibn Ali, king of Yamama, who was a Chris- 
tian, and having some time before professed Islam, had 
lately returned to his former faith; this prince sent back 
a very rough answer, upon which Muhammad cursing 
him, he died soon after; and a third to al Mundar Ibn 


* This whole story of the conversion of Badhdan, with all its mira- 
culous surroundings, is a clear fabrication, The only element of 
truth allowable is that Badhan, taking advantage of a revolution in 
Persia, threw off his allegiance to that power, and, finding Muham- 
mad the leader of a powerful and growing faction in Arabia, was 
glad to gain his support by signifying his allegiance to him. 


E. M. W. 
+ This absurd pretension of the traditionists is described in full 
in Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. iv. chap. 20. E. M. W. 


1 Abulfeda, Vit. Moh, p. 92, &. or Miriam, whereas this is written 

2 Al Jannabi. Mariya. 

3 It is, however, a different name 4 This prince is omitted in Dr. 
from that of the Virgin Mary, which Pocock’s list of the kings of Ghassan, 
the Orientals always write Maryam Spec., p. 77. 


_ Khélid and 
Amru con- 
verted. 


The expedi- 
tion to 
Syria. 


92 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. II. 


Sawa, kine of Bahrain, who embraced Muhammadism, and 
all the Arabs of that country followed his example.! * 
The eighth year of the Hijra was a very fortunate year 
to Muhammad. In the beginning of it Khalid Ibn al 
Walid and Amru Ibn al As, both excellent soldiers, the 
first of whom afterwards conquered Syria and other coun- 
tries, and the latter Egypt, became proselytes of Muham- 
madism, And soon after the prophet sent 3000 men 
against the Grecian forces to revenge the death of one of 
his ambassadors, who being sent to the governor of Bosra 
on the same errand as those who went to the above- 
mentioned princes, was slain by an Arab of the tribe of 
Ghassan at Muta, a town in the territory of Balka in Syria, 
about three days’ journey eastward from Jerusalem, near 
which town they encountered. The Grecians being vastly 
superior in number (for, including the auxilary Arabs, 
they had an army of 100,000 men), the Muhammadans 
were repulsed in the first attack, and lost successively 
three of their generals, viz., Zaid Ibn Harith, Muham- 
mad’s freedman, Jaafar, the son of Abu Talib, and Abdal- 
lah Ibn Rawaha; but Khalid Ibn al Walid, succeeding 
to the command, overthrew the Greeks with a great 
slaughter, and brought away abundance of rich spoil;?t 
on occasion of which action Muhammad gave him the 





* For a full and reliable account of the matters treated in this 
paragraph, see Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. iv. chap. 20, already 
referred to above. E. M, W. 

t “Some accounts pretend that Khaled rallied the army, and 
either turned the day against the Romans or made it a drawn 
battle. But besides that the brevity of all the accounts is proof 
enough of a reverse, the reception of the army on its return to 
Medina admits of only one conclusion, viz., a complete, ignominious, 
and unretrieved discomfiture.”—Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. iv. p. 
100, note. E. M. W. 


1 Abulfeda, ubi sup., p. 94, &e. * Idem ib., pp. 99, 100, &c. 


SEC.IL.] | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 93 


honourable title of Saif min suyuf Allah, One of the 
_ Swords of Gop.! 
In this year also Muhammad took the city of Makkah, the truce 


with the 


the inhabitants whereof had broken the truce concluded people ot 
on two years before. For the tribe of Baqr, who were prekens 
confederates of the Quraish, attacking those of Khuzaah, 
who were allies of Muhammad, killed several of them, 
being supported in the action by a party of the Quraish 
themselves. The consequence of this violation was soon 
apprehended, and Abu Sufian himself made a journey to 
Madina on purpose to heal the breach and renew the 
truce,? but in vain, for Muhammad, glad of this oppor- 
tunity, refused to see him; whereupon he applied to Abu 
Baqr and Ali, but they giving him no answer, he was 
obliged to return to Makkah as he came. 

Muhammad immediately gave orders for preparations to 
be made, that he might surprise the people of Makkah while 
they were unprovided to receive him. In a little time he 
began his march thither, and by the time he came near the 
city his forces were increased to 10,000 men. Those of 
Makkah being not in a condition to defend themselves muhammad 
against so formidable an army, surrendered at discretion, Makkah, 
and Abu Sufian saved his life by turning Muhammadan. 
About twenty-eight of the idolaters were killed by a party 
under the command of Khalid; but this happened con- 
trary to Muhammad’s orders, who, when he entered the 
town, pardoned all the Quraish on their submission, 
except only six men and four women, who were more 
obnoxious than ordinary (some of them having aposta- 
tised), and were solemnly proscribed by the prophet 
himself; but of these no more than three men and one 
woman were put to death, the rest obtaining pardon on 


1 Al Bokhéri in Sonna. pretence of Muhammad’s, as Dr. 

2 This circumstance isaplainproof Prideaux insinuates. Life of Maho- 
that the Quraish had actually broken met, p. 94. 
the truce, and that it was not a mere 


94 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. II. 


their embracing Muhammadism, and one of the women 
making her escape.! 

The remainder of this year Muhammad employed in 
destroying the idols in and round about Makkah, sending 
several of his generals on expeditions for that purpose, 
and to invite the Arabs to Islam: wherein it is no wonder 
if they now met with success. | 

Many tribes The next year, being the ninth of the Hijra, the Mu- 
converte. hammadans call “the year of embassies,” for the Arabs 
had been hitherto expecting the issue of the war between 
Muhammad and the Quraish; but so soon as that tribe— 
the principal of the whole nation, and the genuine de- 
scendants of Ismail, whose prerogatives none offered to 
dispute—had submitted, they were satisfied that it was 
not in their power to oppose Muhammad, and therefore 
began to come in to him in great numbers, and to send 
embassies to make their submissions to him, both to 
_ Makkah, while he stayed there, and also to Madina, whither 
he returned this year.2 Among the rest, five kings of 
the tribe of Himyar professed Muhammadism, and sent 
ambassadors to notify the same.? 
Al’sexpedi. In the tenth year Ali was sent into Yaman to propagate 
yon to the Muhammadan faith there, and as it is said, converted 
the whole tribe. of Hamdan in one day.* Their example 
was quickly followed by all the inhabitants of that pro- 
vince, except only those of Najran, who, being Christians, 
chose rather to pay tribute. 
Mrabia Thus was Muhammadism established and_ idolatry 
isa. rooted out, even in Muhammad’s lifetime (for he died 
the next year), throughout all Arabia, except only 
Yamama, where Musailama, who set up also for a pro- 





* The arguments used to persuade the Yamanites were the swords 
of his Muslim followers. E. M. W. 


1 Vide Abulfeda, ubi sup.,c. 51, 52. 3 Abulfeda, ubi sup., p. 128. 
2 Vide Gagnier, not. ad Abulfeda, 4 Thid. (pated: 
Detete 


sEC.I.] | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 95 


phet as Muhammad’s competitor, had a great party, and 
was not reduced till the Khalifat of Abu Baqr. And the 
Arabs being then united in one faith and under one 
prince, found themselves in a condition of making those 
conquests which extended the Muhammadan faith over 
so great a part of the world. 


Import of 
the word 
garad. 


( 96 ) 


Ge Us ON eral 


OF THE QURAN ITSELF, THE PECULIARITIES OF THAT BOOK 5 THE 
MANNER OF ITS BEING WRITTEN AND PUBLISHED, AND THE 
GENERAL DESIGN OF IT. 


THE word Quran, derived from the verb garaa, to read, 
signifies properly in Arabic “the reading,” or rather 
“that which ought to be read;” by which name the Mu- 
hammadans denote not only the entire book or volume of 
the Quran, but also any particular chapter or section of 
it ; just as the Jews call either the whole Scripture or any 
part of it by the name of Karah or Mikra,! words of the 
same origin and import; which observation seems to over- 
throw the opinion of some learned Arabians, who would 
have the Quran so named because it is a collection of the 
loose chapters or sheets which compose it—the verb karaa 
signifying also to gather or collect ;? and may also, by the | 
way, serve aS an answer to those who object® that the 
Quran must be a book forged at once, and could not 
possibly be revealed by parcels at different times during 
the course of several years, as the Muhammadans affirm, 
because the Quran is often mentioned and called by that 
name in the very book itself. It may not be amiss to 
observe, that the syllable AZ in the word Alguran is only 
the Arabic article, signifying the, and therefore ought to 
be omitted when the English article is prefixed. 


1 This name was at first given to ? Vide Erpen. not.ad Hist. Joseph., 
the Pentateuch only, Nehem. viii. p. 3. 
Vide Simon. Hist. Crit. du Vieux 3 Marrac. de Alcor., p. 41. 
Test., 11, ¢, 9: 


SEC Ii. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. i 97 


Besides this peculiar name, the Quran is also honoured othernames 


with several appellations common to other books of Scrip- 
ture: as, al Hurgdn, from the verb faraqa, to divide or 
distinguish ; not, as the Muhammadan doctors say, be- 
cause those books are divided into chapters or sections, 
or distinguish between good and evil, but in the same 
notion that the Jews use the word Perek or Pirka, from 
the same root, to denote a section or portion of Scripture.4 
It is also called al Mushdf, the volume, and al Kitab, the 
Look, by way of eminence, which answers to the Biblia of 
the Greeks; and al Dhikr, the admonition, which name is 
also given to the Pentateuch and Gospels. 

The Quran is divided into 114 larger portions of very 
unequal length, which we call chapters, but the Arabians 
Suwwar, in the singular Swra, a word rarely used on any 
other occasion, and properly signifying a row, order, or 
regular serves, as a course of bricks in building or a rank 
of soldiers in an army; and is the same in use and import 
with the Stra or Tora of the Jews, who also call the 
fifty-three sections of the Pentateuch Seddrim, a word of 
the same signification.? 

These chapters are not in the manuscript copies dis- 
tinguished by their numerical order, though for the reader’s 
ease they are numbered in this edition, but by particular 
titles, which (except that of the first, which is the initial 
chapter, or introduction to the rest, and by the old Latin 
translator not numbered among the chapters) are taken 
sometimes from a particular matter treated of or person 
mentioned therein, but usually from the first word of 
note, exactly in the same manner as the Jews have named 
their Sedarim ; though the words from which some chap- 
ters are» denominated be very far distant, towards the 
middle, or perhaps the: end of the chapter, which seems 





1 Vide Gol. in append. ad Gram. 2 Vide Gol., ubi. sup., 177. Each 
Arab. Erpen., 175. A chapter or of the six grand divisions of the 
subdivision of the Massictoth of the Mishna is also called Seder. g Mai- 
Mishna is also called Perek. Mai- mon., ubi sup., p. 55. . 
mon., Pref. in Seder Zeraim, p. 57. 

G 


applied to 
the Quran, 


Divisions of 
the Quran. 


Titles of the 
chapters. 


The verses 
of the 
chapters. 


98 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. III. 


ridiculous. But the occasion of this seems to have been, 
that the verse or passage wherein such word occurs was, 
in point of time, revealed and committed to writing before 
the other verses of the same chapter which precede it in 
order; and the title being given to the chapter before it 
was completed or the passages reduced to their present 
order, the verse from whence such title was taken did not | 
always happen to begin the chapter. Some chapters have 
two or more titles, occasioned by the difference of the copies. 

Some of the chapters having been revealed at Makkah 
and others at Madina, the noting this difference makes a 
part of the title; but the reader will observe that several 
of the chapters are said to have been revealed partly at 
Makkah and partly at Madina; and as to others, it is yet 
a dispute among the commentators to which place of the 
two they belong. 

Every chapter is subdivided into smaller portions, of very 
unequal length also, which we customarily call verses; but 
the Arabic word is Aydt, the same with the Hebrew Oféoth, 
and signifies signs or wonders; such as are the secrets of Gon, 
his attributes, works, judgments, and ordinances, delivered 
in those verses ; many of which have their particular titles 
also, imposed in the same manner as those of the chapters. 

Notwithstanding this subdivision is common and well 
known, yet I have never yet seen any manuscript wherein 
the verses are actually numbered ; though in some copies 
the number of verses in each chapter is set down after the 
title, which we have therefore added in the table of the 
chapters. And the Muhammadans seem to have some 
scruple in making an actual distinction in their copies, 
because the chief disagreement between their several 
editions of the Quran consists in the division and number 
of the verses; and for this reason I have not taken upon 
me to make any such division. 


* In this edition the verses are numbered according to the divi- 
sion of Shaikh Abdul Qadir of Delhi, so as to correspond with those 
of the Roman Urdu edition published at Lodiana, 1876. ©. M. w. 


SEC. III. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 99 


Having mentioned the different editions of the Quran, it 
may not be amiss here to acquaint the reader that there 
are seven principal editions, if I may so call them, or 
ancient copies of that book, two of which were published 
and used at Madina, a third at Makkah, a fourth at Kufa, 
a fifth at Basra, a sixth in Syria, and a seventh called the 
common or vulgar edition. Of these editions, the first, of 
Madina, makes the whole number of the verses 6000; the 
second and fifth, 6214; the third, 6219; the fourth, 6236; 
the sixth, 6226; and the last, 6225. But they are all 
said to contain the same number of words, namely, 77,639,! 
and the same number of letters, viz., 323,015 ;2* for the 
Muhammadans have in this also imitated the Jews, that 
they have superstitiously numbered the very words and 
letters of their law; nay, they have taken the pains to 
compute (how exactly I know not) the number of times 
each particular letter of the alphabet is contained in the 
Quran.? | 

Besides these unequal divisions of chapter and verse, 
the Muhammadans have also divided their Quran into 
sixty equal portions, which they call Ahzdd, in the singular 
Hizb, each subdivided into four equal parts ; which is also 
an imitation of the Jews, who have an ancient division of 
their Mishna into sixty portions, called Massictoth ;* but 
the Quran is more usually divided into thirty sections 
only, named Ajzdé, from the singular Juz, each of twice the 
lencth of the former, and in the hke manner subdivided 
into four parts. These divisions are for the use of the 
readers of the Quran in the royal temples, or in the 


* Hughes, in his introduction to the Roman Urdu Quran, makes 
the number of verses to be 6616; of words, 77,934; and of letters, 
23.071. E, M. W. 





1 Or as others reckon them, 99, 464. 3 Vide Reland, De Relig. Moh., 
Reland., De Rel. Moh., p. 25. p. 25. 

2 Or according to another compu- * Vide Gol., ubi [sup., p. 178. 
tation, 330,113. Ibid. Vide Gol., Maimon., Pref. in Seder Zeraim, p. 
ubi. sup., p.178. D’Herbelot, Bibl. 57. 

Orient., p. 87. 


The seven 
principal 

editions of 
the Quran. 


Number of 
verses, 
words, Wc. 


Other 
divisions of 
the Quran. 


The Bis- 
millah. 


The letters 
A.L.M., &. 


100 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. III. 


adjoining chapels where the emperors and great men are 
interred. ‘There are thirty of these readers belonging to 
every chapel, and each reads his section every day, so that 
the whole Quran is read over once aday.! I have seen 
several copies divided in this manner, and bound up in as 
many volumes; and have thought it proper to mark these 
divisions in the margin of this translation by numeral © 
letters.* 

Next after the title, at the head of every chapter, except 
only the ninth, is prefixed the following solemn form, by 
the Muhammadans called the Bismillah, “In the name 
of the most merciful Gop ;” which form they constantly 
place at the beginning of all their books and writings in 
general, as a peculiar mark or distinguishing characteristic 
of their religion, it being counted a sort of impiety to omit 
it. The Jews for the same purpose make use of the form, 
“In the name of the Lorp,” or, “ In the name of the great 
Gop;” and the Eastern Christians that of, “In the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” 
But I am apt to believe Muhammad really took this form, 
as he did many other things, from the Persian Magi, who 
used to begin their books in these words, Bandm Yazddn 
bakhshaishghar ddddr; that is, “In the name of the most 
merciful, just Gop.” ? 

This auspicatory form, and also the titles of the chap- 
ters, are by the generality of the doctors and commentators 
believed to be of divine original, no less than the text 
itself ; but the more moderate are of opinion they are only 
human additions, and not the very word of Gop. 

There are twenty-nine chapters of the Quran, which 
have this peculiarity, that they begin with certain letters 





* In this edition these parts are called sipdras, from two Persian 
words: sz, thirty, and pdra, parts ; and they are indicated as first 
sipdra, second stpdra, &e. E. M. W. 


1 Vide Smith, De Moribus et In- * Hyde, His. Rel. Vet. Pers., p. 
stit. Turcar., p. 58. 14. 


SEC uLis| THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. or 


of the alphabet, some with a single one, others with more. 
These letters the Muhammadans believe to be the peculiar 
marks of the Qurdn, and to conceal several profound 
mysteries, the certain understanding of which, the more 
intelligent confess, has not been communicated to any 
mortal, their prophet only-excepted. Notwithstanding 
which, some will take the liberty of guessing at their mean- 
ing by that species of Cabbala called by the Jews Notari- 
kon,' and suppose the letters to stand for as many words 
expressing the names and attributes of Gop, his works, 
ordinances, and decrees; and therefore these mysterious 
letters, as well as the verses themselves; seem in the Quran 
to be called signs. Others explain the intent of these letters 
from their nature or organ, or else from their value in num- 
bers, according to another species of the Jewish Cabbala 
called Gematria;* the uncertainty of which conjectures 
sufficiently appears from their disagreement. Thus, for 
example, five chapters, one of which is the second, begin 
with these letters, A.L.M., which some imagine to stand 
for Allah latif majtd, “GoD is gracious and to be glori- 
fied;” or, Ana li minni, “To me and from me,” viz., be- 
longs all perfection and proceeds all good; or else for 
Ana Allah dlam, “I am the most wise GoD,” taking the 
first letter to mark the beginning of the first word, the 
second the middle of the second word, and the third the 
last of the third word; or for “ Allah, Gabriel, Muham- 
mad,’ the author, revealer, and preacher of the Quran. 
Others say that as the letter A belongs to the lower part 
of the throat, the first of the organs of speech; L to the 
palate, the middle organ; and M to the lips, which are 
the last organs; so these letters signify that Gop is the 
beginning, middle, and end, or ought to be praised in the 
beginning, middle, and end of all our words and actions: 
or, as the total value of those three letters in numbers is 





1 Vide Buxtorf, Lexicon Rabbin. 
2 Vide Ibid. See also Schickardi Bechinat happerushim, p. 62, &c. 


The lan- 
guage of the 
Quran. 


Its elegance 
of style 
claimed to 
be mira- 
culous. 


102 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC 


seventy-one, they signify that in the space of so many 
years, the religion preached in the Quran should be fully 
established. The conjecture of a learned Christian? is, at 
least, as certain as any of the former, who supposes those 
letters were set there by the amanuensis, for Amar li 
Muhammad, 1.¢., “at the command of Muhammad,’ as the 
five letters prefixed to the nineteenth chapter seem to be 
there written by a Jewish scribe for koh yaas, 1.e., “Thus 
he commanded.” * 

The Quran is universally allowed to be written with the 
utmost elegance and purity of language, in the dialect of 
the tribe of Quraish, the most noble and polite of all the 
Arabians, but with some mixture, though very rarely, of 
other dialects. It is confessedly the standard of the Arabic 
tongue, and as the more orthodox believe, and are taught by 
the book itself, inimitable by any human pen (though some 
sectaries have been of another opinion),? and therefore 
insisted on asa permanent miracle, greater than that of 
raising the dead,’ and alone sufficient to convince the 
world of its divine original. 

And to this miracle did Muhammad himself chiefly 
appeal for the confirmation of his mission, publicly chal- 
lenging the most eloquent men in Arabia, which was at 
that time stocked with thousands whose sole study and 
ambition it was to excel in elegance of style and composi- 
tion,* to produce even a single chapter that might be com- 





* See Rodwell’s Koran, p. 17, note. Rodwell conjectures that 
they may have been the initial letters or marks of the persons to 
whom the manuscripts of the respective Suras belonged from which 
Zaid compiled the present text. E, M. W. 


1 Golius in Append. ad Gram. 
Erp., p. 182. 2 See post. 

3 Ahmed Abd’alhalim, apud Mar- 
race. de Ale., p. 43. 

4 A noble writer therefore mis- 
takes the question when he says 
these Eastern religionists leave their 
sacred writ the sole standard of lite- 


rate performance by extinguishing 
all true learning. For though they 
were destitute of what we call learn- 
ing, yet they were far from being 
ignorant, or unable to compose ele- 
gantly in their own tongue. See 
Lord Shaftesbury’s Characteristics, 
vol. iii. p. 235. 


a 
- ™ 


SEC. III. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 103 


~ pared with it.1* I will mention but one instance out of 
several, to show that this book was really admired for the 
beauty of its composure by those who must be allowed 
to have been competent judges. A poem of Labid Ibn 
Rabia, one of the greatest wits in Arabia in Muhammad’s 
time, being fixed up on the gate of the temple of Makkah, 
an honour allowed to none but the most esteemed per- 
formances, none of the other poets durst offer anything of 
their own in competition with it. But the second chapter 
of the Quran being fixed up by it soon after, Labid himself 
(then an idolater), on reading the first verses only, was 
struck with admiration, and immediately professed the 
religion taught thereby, declaring that such words could 
proceed from an inspired person only. This Labid was 
afterwards of great service to Muhammad in writing 
answers to the satires and invectives that were made on 
him and his religion by the infidels, and particularly by 
Armri al Qais,? prince of the tribe of Asad,? and author of 
one of those seven famous poems called al Muallaqat.* + 
The style of the Quran is generally beautiful and fluent, the style 


the compo- 


especially where it imitates the prophetic manner and sition. 


* Arnold (slam and Christianity, p. 324) has pointed out that, 
while the beauty of the Qurin was acknowledged by some of 
Muhammad’s contemporaries, yet there is proof from the Qurdn 
itself that this was rather the exception than the rule, ¢.9., chap. 
viii. 31, also chap. xxi, 5. E, M, W. 

+ This Amri al Qais died in a.D. 540, on his return from Con- 
stantinople. See Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. i. p. ccxxii. This 
was just thirty years before Muhammad was born! 

I can find no authority for the statement that Labid, the eect 
of the Bani Amir, rendered Muhammad any assistance of a poetic 
order. If a convert at all, he must have become such very shortly 
before Muhammad’s death. See Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. iv. 
p- 226. E. M. W. 





1 Al Ghazdli, apud Poc. Spec, 2 D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., p. 512, 
191. See Quran, c. 17, v. 90,and &c. 
ASIC. 2hp--3, V. 23, andee. 11, v.11 4, 3 Poe. Spec., p. 80. 
&e. 4 See supra, p. 53. | 


The in- 
fluence of 
this style 


on Muham- 
mad’s hear- 


ers, 


104 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IIt. 


Scripture phrases. Itis concise and often obscure, adorned 
with bold figures after the Eastern taste, enlivened with 
florid and sententious expressions, and in many places, 
especially where the majesty and attributes of Gop are 
described, sublime and magnificent; of which the reader 
cannot but observe several instances, though he must not 
imagine the translation comes up to the original, notwith- 
standing my endeavours to do it justice. 

Though it be written in prose, yet the sentences gene- 
rally conclude in a long continued rhyme, for the sake 
of which the sense is often interrupted, and unnecessary 
repetitions too frequently made, which appear still more 
ridiculous in a translation, where the ornament, such as it 
is, for whose sake they were made, cannot be perceived. 
However, the Arabians are so mightily delighted with 
this jingling, that they employ it in their most elaborate 
compositions, which they also embellish with frequent pas- 
sages of, and allusions to, the Quran, so that it is next to 
impossible to understand them without being well versed 
in this book. 

It is probable the harmony of expression which the 
Arabians find in the Quran might contribute not a little 
to make them relish the doctrine therein taught, and give 
an efficacy to arguments which, had they been nakedly 
proposed without this rhetorical dress, might not have so 


easily prevailed. Very extraordinary effects are related of 


the power of words well chosen and artfully placed, which 
are no less powerful either to ravish or amaze than music 
itself; wherefore as much has been ascribed by the best 
orators to this part of rhetoric as to any other He must 
have a very bad ear who is not uncommonly moved with 
the very cadence of a well-turned sentence; and Muham- 
mad seems not to have been ignorant of the enthusiastic 
operation of rhetoric on the minds of men; for which 
reason he has not only employed his utmost skill in these 


1 See Casaubon, of Enthusiasm, ec. 4. 


SEC. III. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 105 


his pretended revelations, to preserve that dignity and 
sublimity of style which might seem not unworthy of the 
majesty of that Being whom he gave out to be the Author 
of them, and to imitate the prophetic manner of the Old 
Testament; but he has not neglected even the other arts 
of oratory, wherein he succeeded so well, and so strangely 
captivated the minds of his audience, that several of his 
opponents thought it the effect of witchcraft and enchant- 
ment, as he sometimes complains.! 

“The general design of the Quran” (to use the words nosign of 
of a very learned person) “seems to be this: to unite the "°°" 
professors of the three different religions then followed in 
the populous country of Arabia, who for the most part 
lived promiscuously, and wandered without guides, the 
far greater number being idolaters, and the rest Jews and 
Christians, mostly of erroneous and heterodox belief, in 
the knowledge and worship of one eternal, invisible Gop, 
by whose power all things were made, and those which 
are not, may be, the supreme Governor, Judge, and abso- 
lute Lord of the creation; established under the sanction 
of certain laws, and the outward signs of certain cere- 
monies, partly of ancient and partly of novel institution, 
and enforced by setting before them rewards and punish- 
ments, both temporal and eternal; and to bring them all 
to the obedience of Muhammad, as the prophet and 
ambassador of Gop, who after the repeated admonitions, 
promises, and threats of former ages, was at last to estab- 
lish and propagate Gop’s religion on earth by force of 
arms, and to be acknowledged chief pontiff in spiritual 
matters, as well as supreme prince in temporal.” ? 

The great doctrine, then, of the Quran is the unity of The doe- 


: : rine of 
Gop, to restore which point Muhammad pretended was the Qurdn 
: : Swe : é : regarding 

the chief end of his mission; it being laid down by him religion 
anda reve- 


as a fundamental truth that there never was nor ever Can. lation. 





1 Qurdn, c. 15, v. 6; ¢ 21, v. 3, 7? Golius. in appen. ad Gram. Erp., 
&e. p. 176 


The use 
made of 
Old Testa- 
ment his- 
tory in the 
Quran. 


106 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE: [SEC. III. 


be more than one true orthodox religion. For though the 
particular laws or ceremonies are only temporary, and 
subject to alteration according to the divine direction, 
yet the substance of it being eternal truth, is not liable 
to change, but continues immutably the same. And he 
taught that whenever this religion became neglected or 
corrupted in essentials, Gop had the goodness to re-inform 
and re-admonish mankind thereof by several prophets, 
of whom Moses and Jesus were the most distinguished, 
till the appearance of Muhammad, who is their seal, no 
other being to be expected after him. And the more 
effectually to engage people to hearken to him, great part 
of the Quran is employed in relating examples of dreadful 
punishments formerly inflicted by Gop on those who 
rejected and abused his messengers; several of which 
stories, or some circumstances of them, are taken from 
the Old and New Testament, but many more from the 
apocryphal books and traditions of the Jews and Chris- 
tians of those ages, set up in the Quran as truths in 
opposition to the Scriptures, which the Jews and Christians 


are charged with having altered; and I am apt to believe 


The use 
made of the 
Quran by 
Muhammad 
in emer- 
gency. 


that few or none of the relations or circumstances in 
the Quran were invented by Muhammad, as is generally 
supposed, it being easy to trace the greatest part of them 
much higher, as the rest might be, were more of those 
books extant, and it was worth while to make the 
inquiry. 

The other part of the Quran is taken up in giving 
necessary laws and directions, in frequent admonitions 
to moral and divine virtues, and above all to the worship- 
ping and reverencing of the only true Gop, and resigna- 
tion to his will; among which are many excellent things 
intermixed not unworthy even a Christian’s perusal. 

But besides these, there are a great number of passages 
which are occasional, and relate to particular emergencies. 
For whenever anything happened which perplexed and 
eravelled Muhammad, and which he could not otherwise 


SEC. 11.] | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 107 


get over, he had constant recourse to a new revelation, as 
an infallible expedient in all nice cases; and he found 
the success of this method answer his expectation. It 
was certainly an admirable and politic contrivance of his 
to bring down the whole Quran at once to the lowest 
heaven only, and not to the earth, as a bungling prophet 
would probably have done; for if the whole had been 
published at once, innumerable objections might have 
been made, which it would have been very hard, if not 
impossible, for him to solve; but as he pretended to have 
received it by parcels, as GoD saw proper that they should 
be published for the conversion and instruction of the 
people, he had a sure way to answer all emergencies, and 
to extricate himself with honour from any difficulty which 
might occur. If any objection be hence made to that 
eternity of the Quran which the Muhammadans are 
taught to believe, they easily answer it by their doctrine 
of absolute predestination, according to which all the 
accidents for the sake of which these occasional passages 
were revealed were predetermined by God from all 
eternity. 

That Muhammad was really the author and chief con- 
triver of the Quran is beyond dispute, though it be highly 
probable that he had no small assistance in his design 
from others, as his countrymen failed not to object to 
him.! However, they differed so much in their conjectures 
as to the particular persons who gave him such assistance,” 
that they were not able, it seems, to prove the charge; 
Muhammad, it is to be presumed, having taken his 
measures too well to be discovered. Dr. Prideaux? has 
given the most probable account of this matter, though 
chiefly from Christian writers, who generally mix such 
ridiculous fables with what they deliver, that they deserve 
not much credit. 


1 Vide Qurdn, c. 16, v. 105, and c. 25, v. 5. 
2 See the notes on those passages, 3 Life of Mahomet, p. 31, &c. 


Muhammad 
the author 
of the 
Quran. 


The divine 
original of 
the Quran. 


Original 
MSS. of the 
Quran. 


108 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. III. 


However it be, the Muhammadans absolutely deny the 
Quran was composed by their prophet himself, or any 
other for him, it being their general and orthodox belief 
that it is of divine original; nay, that it is eternal and 
uncreated, remaining, as some express it, in the very 
essence of Gop; that the first transcript has been from 
everlasting by Gop’s throne, written on a table of vast 
bigness, called the Preserved Table, in which are also 
recorded the divine decrees past and future; that a copy 
from this table, in one volume on paper, was by the 
ministry of the Angel Gabriel sent down to the lowest 
heaven, in the month of Ramadhan, on the night of power ;1 
from whence Gabriel revealed it to Muhammad by parcels, 
some at Makkah, and some at Madina, at different times, 
during the space of twenty-three years, as the exigency 
of affairs required ; giving him, however, the consolation 
to show him the whole (which they tell us was bound in 
silk, and-adorned with gold and precious stones of para- 
dise) once a year; but in the last year of his life he had 
the favour to see it twice. ‘ They say that few chapters 
were delivered entire, the most part being revealed piece- 
meal, and written down from time to time by the prophet’s 
amanuenses in such or such a part of such or such a 
chapter till they were completed, according to the direc- 
tions of the angel.2? The first parcel that was revealed is 
generally agreed to have been the first five verses of the 
ninety-sixth chapter. 

After the new revealed passages had been from the 
prophet’s mouth taken down in writing by his scribe, they 
were published to his followers, several of whom took 
copies for their private use, but the far greater number 
got them by heart. The originals when returned were put 





1 Vide Quran, c. 97, and note Law was given to Moses by parcels. 


ibid. Vide Millium. de Mohammedismo 
2 Therefore it is a mistake of Dr. ante Moham., p. 365. 
Prideaux to say it was brought him 3 Not the whole chapter, as Golius 


chapter by chapter. Life of Maho- says. Append. ad Gr. Erp., p. 108. 
met, p.6. The Jews also say the 


SEC. III.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 109 


promiscuously into a chest,* observing no order of time, 
for which reason it is uncertain when many passages were 
revealed. 

When Muhammad died, he left his revelations in the Collects 

same disorder I have mentioned, and not digested into ner 
the method, such as it is, which we now find them in. 
This was the work of his successor, Abu Baqr, who con- 
sidering that a great number of passages were committed 
to the memory of Muhammad’s followers, many of whom 
were slain in their wars, ordered the whole to be collected, 
not only from the palm-leaves and skins on which they 
had been written, and which were kept between two 
boards or covers, but also from the mouths of such as had 
gotten them by heart. And this transcript when com- 
pleted he committed to the custody of Hafsa the daughter 
of Omar, one of the prophet’s widows.! 

From this relation it is generally imagined that Abu 
Baqr was really the compiler of the Quran; though for 
aught appears to the contrary, Muhammad left the chap- 
ters complete as we now have them, excepting such pas- 
sages as his successor might add or correct from those 
who had gotten them by heart; what Abu Bagqr did else 
being perhaps no more than to range the chapters in their 
present order, which he seems to have done without any 
regard to time, having generally placed the longest first. 

However, in the thirtieth year of the Hijra, Othman otnmin’s 
being then Khaltffah, and observing the great disagreement 
in the copies of the Quran in the several provinces of the 
empire—those of Irak, for example, following the reading 
of Abu Musa al Ashari, and the Syrians that of Maqdad 
Ibn Aswad—he, by advice of the companions, ordered a 
ereat number of copies to be transcribed from that of Abu 


* Muir says, “This statement does not seem to be borne out by 
any good authority.”—Jntroduction, Life of Mahomet, p. 4. 
E. M, W. 


1 Elmacin, in Vita Abu Becr, Abulfeda. 


Various 
readings : 
how they 
originated. 


The doctrine 
of abroga- 
tion. 


Abrogated 
passages. 


’ Some ascribe the invention of them 


IIO THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. III. 


Baqr, in Hafsa’s care, under the inspection of Zaid Ibn 
Thabit, Abdallah Ibn Zobair, Said Ibn al As, and Abd- 
alrahman Ibn al Harith, the Makhzumite; whom he 
directed, that wherever they disagreed about any word, 
they should write it in the dialect of the Quraish, in which 
it was at first delivered! These copies when made were 
dispersed in the several provinces of the empire, and the 
old ones burnt and suppressed. Though many things in 
Hafsa’s copy were corrected by the above-mentioned super- 
visors, yet some few various readings still occur, the most 

material of which will be taken notice of in their proper 
places. 

The want of aida 2 in the Arabic character made 
Muaqris, or readers whose peculiar study and profession it 
was to read the Quran with its proper vowels, absolutely 
necessary. But these, differing in their manner of reading, 
occasioned still further variations in the copies of the 
Quran, as they are now written with the vowels; and 
herein consist much the greater part of the various read- 
ings throughout the book. The readers whose authority 
the commentators chiefly allege, in admitting these various 
readings, are seven in number. 

There being some passages in the Quran which are con- 
tradictory, ane Muhammadan doctors obviate any objection 
from thence by the doctrine of abrogation; for they say 
that Gop in the Quran commanded several things which 
were for good reasons afterwards revoked and abrogated. 

Passages abrogated are distinguished into three kinds: 
the first where the letter and the sense are both abrogated ; 
the second, where the letter only is abrogated, but the 
sense remains ; and the third, where the sense is abrogated, 
though the letter remains, 


1 Abulfeda, 
and Othman. 
2 The characters or marks of the 
Arabic vowels were not used till 
several years after Muhammad. 


in Vitis Abu Becr 


to Yahya Ibn Ydmir, some to Nasr 


Ibn Asam, surnamed al Laithi, and 
others to Abu al Aswad al Dili—all 
three of whom were doctors of Basra, 
and immediately succeeded the com- 
penions: See D’ Herbel., Bibl. Orient., 
p- o7. 


SEC. III. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. III 


Of the first kind were several verses, which, by the 
tradition of Malik Ibn Ans, were in the prophet’s lifetime 
read in the chapter of Repentance, but are not now extant, 
one of which, being all he remembered of them, was the 
following: “If a son of Adam had two rivers of gold, he 
would covet yet a third; and if he had three, he would 
covet yet a fourth (to be added) unto them; neither shall 
the belly of a son of Adam be filled, but with dust. Gop 
will turn unto him who shall repent.” Another instance 
of this kind we have from the tradition of Abdallah Ibn 
Masud, who reported that the prophet gave him a verse 
to read which he wrote down; but the next morning, 
looking in his book, he found it was vanished, and the leaf 
blank: this he acquainted Muhammad with, who assured 
him the verse was revoked the same night. 

Of the second kind is a verse called the verse of Ston- 
ing, which, according to the tradition of Omar, afterwards 
Khalifah, was extant while Muhammad was living, though 
it be not now to be found. The words are these: “ Abhor 
not your parents, for this would be ingratitude in you. 
If a man and woman of reputation commit adultery, ye 
shall stone them both; it is a punishment ordained by 
Gop ; for Gop is mighty and wise.” 

Of the last kind are observed several verses in sixty- 
three different chapters, to the number of 225; such as 
the precepts of turning in prayer to Jerusalem, fasting 
after: the old custom, forbearance towards idolaters, avoid- 
ing the ignorant, and the hike The passages of this sort 
have been carefully collected by several writers, and are 
most of them remarked in their proper places. 

Though it is the belief of the Sonnites or orthodox that the Quran 
the Quran is uncreated and eternal, subsisting in the very epee 
essence of Gop, and Muhammad himself is said to have 
pronounced him an infidel who asserted the contrary,” yet 


1 Abu Hashem Hebatallah, apud Marracc. de Alc., p. 42. 
2 Apud Poe. Spec., p. 220. 


Al Ghazali’s 
opinion as 
to the 
Quran. 


Opinion of 
al Jahidh. 


112 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. III. 


several have been of a different opinion; particularly the 
sect of the Mutazalites,) and the followers of Isa Ibn 
Subaih Abu Musa, surnamed al Muzdar, who stuck not 
to accuse those who held the Quran to be uncreated of 
infidelity, as asserters of two eternal beings.” 

This point was controverted with so much heat that it 
occasioned many calamities under some of the Khalifahs 
of the family of Abbas, al Mamun? making a public edict 
declaring the Quran to be created, which was confirmed 
by his successors al Mutasim* and al Wathik,®? who 
whipped, imprisoned, and put to death those of the contrary 
opinion. But at length al Mutawakkil,® who succeeded 
al Wathik, put an end to these persecutions by revoking 
the former edicts, releasing those that were imprisoned 
on that account, and leaving every man at liberty as to 
his belief in this point.’ 

Al Ghazali seems to have tolerably reconciled both 
opinions, saying that the Quran is read and pronounced 
with the tongue, written in books, and kept in memory ; 
and is yet eternal, subsisting in Gop’s essence, and not 
possible to be separated thence by any transmission into 
men’s memories or the leaves of books;® by which he 
seems to mean no more than that the original idea of the 
Quran only is really in GoD, and consequently co-essential 
and co-eternal with him, but that the copies are created 
and the work of man. 

The opinion of al Jahidh, chief of a sect bearing his 
name, touching the Quran, is too remarkable to be 


1 See post, Sect. VIIT. 

2 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 219, &e. 

3 Anno Hij., 218. Abulfarag, p. 
245, v. etiam Elmacin. in Vita al 
Mamtin. | 

4 In the time of al Mutasim, a 
doctor named Abu Hartn Ibn al 
Baqa found out a distinction to 
screen himself, by affirming that the 
Quran was ordained, because it is 
said in that book,4“ And I have 


ordained thee the Quran.” He 
went still further to allow that what 
was ordained was created, and yet 
he denied it thence followed that 
the Qurdn was created. Abulfarag, 
p. 253: 

*Thid.p. 267: 

§ Anno Hij., p. 242. 

7 Abulfarag, p. 262. ! 

8 Al Ghazali, in prof. fid. 


SEC ii: | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 


re 


omitted: he used to say it was a body, which might 
sometimes be turned into a man,! and sometimes into a 
beast;? which seems to agree with the notion of those 
who assert the Qurdn to have two faces, one of a man, 
the other of a beast ;? thereby, as I conceive, intimating 
the double interpretation it will admit of, according to 
the letter or the spirit. 

As some have held the Quran to be created, so there 
have not been wanting those who have asserted that there 
is nothing miraculous in that book in respect to style or 
composition, excepting only the prophetical relations of 
things past, and predictions of things to come; and 
that had Gop left men to their natural liberty, and not 
restrained them in that particular, the Arabians could 
have composed something not only equal but superior to 
the Quran in eloquence, method, and purity of language. 
This was another opinion of the Mutazilites, and in par- 
ticular of al Muzdar, above mentioned, and al Nudham.+4 

The Quran being the Muhammadans’ rule of faith and 
practice, it is no wonder its expositors and commentators 
are sO very numerous. And it may not be amiss to take 
notice of the rules they observe in expounding it. 

One of the most learned commentators ° distinguishes 
the contents of the Quran into allegorical and literal. The 
former comprehends the more obscure, parabolical, and 
enigmatical passages, and such as are repealed or abro- 





1 The Khalifah al Walid Ibn 
Yazid, who was the eleventh of the 


person? Behold, I am that rebel- 
lious, perverse person. When thou 


race of Ommeya, and is looked on 
by the Muhammadans as a repro- 
bate and one of no religion, seems 
to have treated this book as a 
rational creature ; for, dipping into 
it one day, the first words he met 
with were these: ‘“ Every rebellious, 
perverse person shall not prosper.” 
Whereupon he stuck it on a lance, 
and shot it to pieces with arrows, 
repeating these verses: “ Dost thou 
rebuke every rebellious, perverse 


appearest before thy Lorp on the 
day of resurrection, say, O Lorp, 
al Walid has torn me thus.” Ibn 
Shohnah. v. Poe. Spec., p. 223. 

42 Poe, Speceip, 222: 

3 Herbelot, p. 87. 

4 Abulfeda, Shahristani, &c., apud 
Poc. Spec., p. 222, et Marracc., De 
Qur., p. 44. 

° Al Zamakhshari. Vide Quran, 
GiGi Ven 7p DOUG! 


H 


Heretical 
opinions. 


Muslim 
exegetical 
rules. 


Muslim 
reverence 
for the 
Quran. 


Transla- 
tions. 


THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IIT. 


114 


cated ; the latter those which are plain, perspicuous, liable 
to no doubt, and in full force. 

To explain these severally in a right manner, it is 
necessary from tradition and study to know the time 
when each passage was revealed, its circumstances, state, 
and history, and the reasons or particular emergencies for 
the sake of which it was revealed ;! or, more explicitly, 
whether the passage was revealed at Makkah or at Madina; 
whether it be abrogated, or does itself abrogate any other 
passage; whether it be anticipated in order of time or 
postponed; whether it be distinct from the -context or 
depends thereon; whether it be particular or general ; 
and, lastly, whether it be implicit by intention or explicit 
in words.” 

By what has been said the reader may easily believe 
this book is in the greatest reverence and esteem among 
the Muhammadans. They dare not so much as touch it 
without being first washed or legally purified ;? which, 
lest they should do by inadvertence, they write these 
words on the cover or label, “ Let none touch it but they 
who are clean.” They read it with great care and respect, 
never holding it below their girdles, They swear by it, 
consult it in their weighty occasions,‘ carry it with them 
to war, write sentences of it on their banners, adorn it 


with gold and precious stones, and knowingly suffer it not 


to be in the possession of any of a different persuasion. 
The Muhammadans, far from thinking -the Quran to be 
profaned by a translation, as some authors have written,? 








1-Ahmad Ibn Muh. al Thalabi, 
in Princip. Expos. Alc. 

2 Yahya Ibn al Salim al Basri, 
in Princep. Expos. Ale. 

3 The Jews have the same venera- 
tion for their law, not daring to 
touch it with unwashed hands, nor 
then neither without a cover. Vide 
Millium, De Mohammedismo ante 
Moh., p. 366. 

4 This they do by dipping into it, 


and taking an omen from the words 
which they first light on, which 
practice they also learned of the 
Jews, who do the same with the 
Scriptures. Vide Millium, ubi sup. 
[See also Lane’s Manners and Cus- 
toms of the Modern Egyptians, vol. 
i. chap. xi., near the end. £. M. W.] 

5 Sionita, De Urb. Orient., p. 41, 
et Marracc., De Ale., p. 33. 


SEC. III.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 115 


have taken care to have their Scriptures translated not 
only into the Persian tongue, but into several others, par- 
ticularly the Javan and Malayan,! though out of respect 
to the original Arabic these versions are generally (if not 
always) interlineary.* 


* Tn addition to those mentioned in the text, we would note two 
popular translations of the Quran in the Urdu language current in 
India. They are interlined with the Arabic text in all Muslim 
editions. E. M. W. 


1 Reland, De Rel. Moh., p. 265. 


Islam the 
one true 
orthodox 
belief. 


C716 M) 


SECTION IV. 


OF THE DOCTRINES AND POSITIVE PRECEPTS OF THE QURAN, WHICH 
RELATE TO FAITH AND RELIGIOUS DUTIES. 


Ir has been already observed more than once, that the 
fundamental position on which Muhammad erected the 
superstructure of his religion was, that from the beginning 
to the end of the world there has been, and for ever will 
be, but one true orthodox belief, consisting, as to matter 
of faith, in the acknowledging of the only true Gop, and 
the believing in and obeying such messengers or prophets 
as he should from time to time send, with proper credentials, 
to reveal his will to mankind; and as to matter of practice, 
in the observance of the immutable and eternal laws of 
right and wrong, together with such other precepts and 
ceremonies as Gop should think fit to order for the time 
being, according to the different dispensations in different 
ages of the world; for these last he allowed were things 
indifferent in their own nature, and became obhgatory by 
Gop’s positive precept only, and were therefore temporary, 
and subject to alteration according to his will and pleasure. 
And to this religion he gives the name of Islam, which 
word signifies resignation, or submission to the service 
and commands of Gop,’ and is used as the proper name 
of the Muhammadan religion, which they will also have 


1 The root Salama, from whence of salvation ; but the other sense is 
Zslim is formed, in the first and more approved by the Muhamma- 
fourth conjugations, signifies also to dans, and alluded to in the Quran 
be saved, or to enter into a state of itself. Seec.2. v. 111, and’c. 3, v. 
salvation ; according to which, /sldm | 19, notes. 
may be translated the religion or state 


SEC, Iv.] THE PRELIMINARY, DISCOURSE. 117 


to be the same at bottom with that of all the prophets 
from Adam. 
Under pretext that this eternal religion was in his time 


‘corrupted, and professed in its purity by no one sect of 


men, Muhammad pretended to be a prophet sent by Gop 
to reform those abuses which had crept into it, and to 
reduce it to its primitive simplicity; with the addition, 
however, of peculiar laws and ceremonies, some of which 
had been used in former times, and others were now first 
instituted. And he comprehended the whole substance 
of his doctrine under these two propositions or articles of 
faith, viz., that there is but one Gop, and that himself was 
the apostle of GoD; in consequence of which latter article, 
all such ordinances and institutions as he thought fit to 
establish must be received as obhgatory and of divine 
authority. 

The Muhammadans divide their religion, which, as I 


just now said, they call Islam, into two distinct parts: p 


Iman, «¢., faith or theory, and Din, ze. religion or prac- 
tice; and teach that it is built on five fundamental 
points, one belonging to faith, and the other four to 
practice. 

The first is that confession of faith which I have already 
mentioned, that “there is no god but the true Gop, and 
that Muhammad is his apostle,’ under which they com- 
prehend six distinct branches, viz., 1. Belief in Gop; 2. 
In his angels; 3. In his Scriptures; 4. In his prophets; 
5. In the resurrection and day of judgment; and, 6. In 
Gop’s absolute decree and predetermination both of good 
and evil. 

The four points* relating to practice are: 1. Prayer, 
under which are comprehended those washings or purifica- 


* To these should be added the duty of Jihdd, or war against 
infidels, which our author places under the head of Civil Laws, see 
chap. vi, All Muslims regard this as a religious duty, which they 
enumerate along with the four mentioned in the text. E, M. W. 


Five points 
of Iman and 
in. 


First funda- 
mental 
point of 
Islam. 


Four points 
of religion. 


The God of 
Islam the 
true God. 


Belief in the 
doctrine of 
angels 
required. 


118 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. Iv’ 


tions which are necessary preparations required before 
prayer; 2. Alms; 3. Fasting; and, 4. The pilgrimage to 
Makkah. Of each of these I shall speak in their order. 

That both Muhammad and those among his followers 
who are reckoned orthodox had and continue to have just 
and true notions of Gop and his attributes (always except- 
ing their obstinate and impious rejecting of the Trinity), 
appears so plain from the Quran itself and all the Muham- 
madan divines, that it would be loss of time to refute those 
who suppose the Gop of Muhammad to be different from 
the true Gop, and only a fictitious deity or idol of his 
own creation.1* Nor shall I here enter into any of the 
Muhammadan controversies concerning the divine nature 
and attributes, because I shall have a more proper oppor- 
tunity of doing it elsewhere.” 

The existence of angels and their purity are absolutely 
required to be believed in the Quran, and he is reckoned 
an infidel who denies there are such beings, or hates any 





* The God of Isldm is undoubtedly the only true God, inasmuch 
as he is represented as a personal God, the Creator and Preserver of 
all things, as a prayer-hearing God, and as possessing many other 
characteristics of the God of the Bible. 

And yet we have other objections to the Muslim conception of 
God, besides that of its ‘impious rejecting of the Trinity.” We 
object to its having exalted His omnipotence over all other attributes ; 
to its lowering of His character for holiness, nothing being said of 
God in the Quran which might not be said of a holy man; to its 
limiting the goodness of God to Muslims, no matter what their 
character, relegating even infants of unbelievers to hell-fire ; to its 
sacrifice of God’s justice by denying the necessity for any atonement 
for sin ; and, finally, to its limitation of the truth of God by its 
sanctification of a he, if it only be spoken in self-defence or for the 
advancement of Islam. It should never be forgotten that the God 
of Islam is not merely the Allah described in the Quran, but the God 
who speaks in every word, syHable, and letter of the Quran. We 
must not therefore separate what we conceive to have special reference 
to God in its teaching, from what we inay conceive to have been used 





1 Marrace. in Alc., p. 102. * Sect. VIIL 





4 
J 
; ‘ 


SEC. Iv.| ° THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 119 


of them,! or asserts any distinction of sexes among them. 
They believe them to have pure and subtle bodies, created 
of fire;? that they neither eat nor drink, nor propagate their 
species; that they have various forms and offices; some 
adoring Gop in different postures, others singing praises to 
him, or interceding for mankind. They hold that some of 
them are employed in writing down the actions of men; 
others in carrying the throne of Gop and other services. 
The four angels whom they look on as more eminently gapriel, 


Michael, 
in Gop’s favour, and often mention on account of the azrasi, 


offices assigned them, are Gabriel, to whom they give Ha Poe 
several titles, particularly those of the holy spirit, and *"8"* 
the angel of revelations,* supposing him to be honoured 

by Gop with a greater confidence than any other, and to 

be employed in writing down the divine decrees; *® Michael, 

the friend and protector of the Jews;® Azraél,* the angel 


of death, who separates men’s souls from their bodies; ? 





by Muhammad for the furtherance of his private or political purposes ; 
for, according to Islim, Muhammad was but the mouthpiece of 
Divinity. If, then, we would get a correct idea of the Allah of 
Islam, we must take into account all that was done by Muhammad 
under the sanction of the Qurén. Let this be done, and it will 
appear that what we have said above is by no means extravagant. 

A true conception of Isl4m and its doctrines can never be formed 
by looking at the Quran from the standpoint of the ‘“ unbelievers,” 
who regard it as the work of Muhammad ; but by looking at it as the 
Muslim does, who believes it to be not only God’s word, but as being 
from eternity recorded on the “ Preserved Table,” kept close by the 
throne of God. 

We would refer the reader to Palgrave’s criticism on Muhammadan 
theology. For further information on this subject, see his Travels 


in Arabia. E. M. W. 
* Muslims pronounce these names Jibrail, Mikdtl, and Izrail. 
E, M. W. 
1 Qurdgn, c. 2, VV. 31-34. > Vide Hyde, Hist. Rel. Vet. 


*elbid. C97, Ve 12,and c) 35,.v.- Pers, p.i 262. 

rie 6 Vide ibid., p. 271, and note in 
BELG. C2; V..07: Quran, ¢c. 2, vv. 97, &c. 
4 See the notes, ibid., vv. 97, &c, 7 Vide note, ibid., c. 2, v. 30. 


This doc- 
trine bor- 
rowed from 
the Jews. 


Belief con- 
cerning 
Satan. 


120 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. IV. 


and Israfil, whose office it will be to sound the trumpet 
at the resurrection The Muhammadans also believe 
that two guardian angels attend on every man to observe 
and write down his actions,? being changed every day, and 
therefore called al Muaqqibat, or the angels who continu- 
ally succeed one another. 

This whole doctrine concerning angels Muhammad and 
his disciples have borrowed from the Jews, who learned 
the names and offices of those beings from the Persians, 
as themselves confess? The ancient Persians firmly 
believed the ministry of angels, and their superintendence 
over the affairs of this world (as the Magians still do), and 
therefore assigned them distinct charges and provinces, 
elving their names to their months and the days of their 
months, Gabriel they called Sarosh and Ravan Bakhsh, or 
the giver of souls, in opposition to the contrary office of 
the angel of death, to whom among other names they 
gave that of Murdad, or the giver of death ; Michael they 
called Beshter, who according to them provides sustenance 
for mankind* The Jews teach that the angels were 
created of fire ;> that they have several offices ;® that they 
intercede for men,’ and attend them. The angel of death 
they name Duma, and say he calls dying persons by their 
respective names at their last hour.? | 

The devil, whom Muhammad names Iblis, from his 
despair, was once one of those angels who are nearest to 
Gop’s presence, called Azazil,’° and fell, according to the 





1 Quran, c. 6, 13, and 86. The 3 Talmud Hieros. in Rosh hashan. 


offices of these four angels are de- 
scribed almost in the same manner 
in the apocryphal Gospel of Barna- 
bas, where it is said that Gabriel 
reveals the secrets of God, Michael 
combats against his enemies, Raphael 
receives the souls of those who die, 
and Uriel is to call every one to 
judgment on the last day. See the 
Menagiana, tom. iv. p. 333. 
2 Curae Ona Os 


4 Vide Hide, ubi sup., c, 19 and 
20. 
5 Gemar. in Hagig. and Bereshit 
rabbah, &c. Vide Psalm civ. 4. 

6 Yalkut hadash. 

7 Gemar. in Shebet, and Bava 
Bathra, &c. 

8 Midrash, Yalkut Shemtni. 

8 Gemar. Berachoth. 

10 Vide Reland, De Rel. Moh.,, p. 
189, &e. 


ae 
AB 


SEC. Iv.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 121 


doctrine of the Quran, for refusing to pay homage to 
Adam at the command of Gop.! 

Besides angels and devils, the Muhammadans are Concerning 
taught by the Quran to believe in an intermediate order wee 
of creatures, which they call Jin or Genii, created also of 
fire,? but of a grosser fabric than angels, since they eat 
and drink, and propagate their species, and are subject 
to death.3 Some of these are supposed to be good and 
others bad, and capable of future salvation or damnation, 
as men are; whence Muhammad pretended to be sent for 
the conversion of genii as well as men. The Orientals 
pretend that these geni inhabited: the world for many 
ages before Adam was created, under the government of 
several successive princes, who all bore the common 
name of Solomon; but falling at length into an almost 
general corruption, Iblis was sent to drive them into a 
remote part of the earth, there to be confined; that some 
of that generation still remaining, were by Tahmurath, 
one of. the ancient kings of Persia, who waged war 
against them, forced to retreat into the famous mountains 
of Qaf. Of which successions and wars they have many 
fabulous and romantic stories. They also make different 
ranks and degrees among these beings (if they be not 
rather supposed to be of a different species), some being 
called absolutely Jin, some Pari or fairies, some Dev or 
ciants, others Taqwims or fates.° 

The Muhammadan notions concerning these genii agree Agrees with 
almost exactly with what the Jews write of a sort of pelief in 
demons called Shedim, whom some fancy to have been sare 
begotten by two angels, named Aza and Azaél, on Naamah 
the daughter of Lamech, before the Flood.6 However, 
the Shedim, they tell us, agree in three things with the 


1 Qurén, c. 2, vv. 31-34. See also “eVide {jilran. c, 55, v.31) 3, CG, 72, 


Ce vel2:C. 39, Ve 7 Fy Gs vv. I-14; andc. 74, 

2 Qurdén, c. 55, v. 14. See the > See D’Herbelot, Bibl. Orient., 
notes there. pp. 369, 820, &e. 

3 Jaldluddin, in Qurdn,c. 2, v. 101, 6 In libro Zohar. 


and c. 18, v. 48. 


The former 
Scriptures. 


fe THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. Iv. 


ministering angels, for that, like them, they have wings, 
and fly from one end of the world to the other, and have 
some knowledge of futurity; and in three things they 
agree with men, like whom they eat and drink, are propa- 
gated, and diet They also say that some of them beheve 
in the law of Moses, and are consequently good, and that 
others of them are infidels and reprobates.? 

As to the Scriptures, the Muhammadans are taught by 
the Quran that Gop, in divers ages of the world, gave 
revelations of his will in writing to several prophets, the 
whole and every word of which it is absolutely necessary 
for a good Muslim to believe. The number of these 
sacred books were, according to them, one hundred and 
four. Of which ten were given to Adam, fifty to Seth, 
thirty to Idris or Enoch, ten to Abraham ; and the other 
four, being the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospel, and 
the Quran, were successively delivered to Moses, David, 
Jesus, and Muhammad ; which last being the seal of the 
prophets, those revelations are now closed, and no more 
are to be expected. All these divine books, except the 
four last, they agree to be now entirely lost, and their 
contents unknown, though the Sabians have several 
books which they attribute to some of the antediluvian 
prophets. And of those four, the Pentateuch, Psalms, and 
Gospel, they say, have undergone so many alterations and 
corruptions, that though there may possibly be some part 
of the true Word of Gop therein, yet no credit is to be 
eiven to the present copies in the hands of the Jews 
and Christians. The Jews in particular are frequently 
reflected on in the Quran for falsifying and corrupting 
their copies of their law;* and some instances of such 





* A careful study of the passages alluded to here will show that 
the alterations and “corruptions” charged against Jews and Chris- 
tians in the Quran do not refer to the text of their Scriptures. Muir, 








1 Gemara, in Hagiga. * Igrat Baale hayyim., c. 15. 


SEC. IV.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE, t23 


pretended corruptions, both in that book and the two aneged cor- 
others, are produced by Muhammadan writers, wherein sea 
they merely follow their own prejudices, and the fabulous Renpinee 
accounts of spurious legends. Whether they have any 

copy of the Pentateuch among them different from that 

of the Jews or not, I am not entirely satisfied, since a 

person who travelled into the East was told that they had 

the books of Moses, though very much corrupted ;? but I 

know. nobody that has ever seen them. However, they 
certainly have and privately read a book which they call 

the Psalms of David in Arabic and Persian, to which are 

added some prayers of Moses, Jonas, and others.2 This 

Mr. Reland supposes to be a translation from our copies 
(though no doubt falsified in more places than one) ; but 

M. D’Herbelot says it contains not the same Psalms which 

are in our Psalter, being no more than an extract from 

thence mixed with other very different pieces? The 

easiest way to reconcile these two learned gentlemen 

is to presume that they speak of different copies. The 
Muhammadans have also a Gospel in Arabic, attributed mustim 
to St. Barnabas, wherein the history of Jesus Christ is Gieer a 
related in a manner very different from what we find in °°?" 
the true Gospels, and correspondent to those traditions 

which Muhammad has followed in his Quran.* Of this 


Gospel the Moriscoes in Africa have a translation in 


in his treatise on The Testumony Borne by the Coran to the Jewish and 
Christian Scriptures, clearly proves that—“ The strongest and most 
unequivocal testimony is borne by the Coran to the Jewish and 
Christian Scriptures as current in the time of Mahomet ; that the 
evidence extends equally to their genuineness and authority ; and 
that there is not a hint anywhere to be found of their concealment 
or interpolation.”—Life of Mahomet, vol. ii. p. 297. E. M. W. 
* See page 10, Preface to Preliminary Discourse. 


1 Terry’s Voyage to the East In- 3 A copy of this kind, he tells us, 
dies, p. 277. is in the library of the Duke of 
2 De Rel. Moham., p. 23. Tuscany, Bibl. Orient., p. 924. 


Muslim use 
of spurious 
Gospels. 


124 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


Spanish ;! and there is in the library of Prince Eugene 
of Savoy a manuscript of some antiquity containing 
an Italian translation of the same Gospel,? made, it is 
to be supposed, for the use of renegades, This book 
appears to be no original forgery of the Muhammadans, 
though they have no doubt interpolated and altered 
it since, the better to serve their purpose; and in parti- 
cular, instead of the Paraclete or Comforter,’ they have 
in this apocryphal Gospel inserted the word Periclyte, 
that is, the famous or wlustrious, by which they pretend 
their prophet was foretold by name, that being the signifi- 
cation of Muhammad in Arabic;* and this they say to 
justify that passage of the Quran® where Jesus Christ is 
formally asserted to have foretold his coming, under his 
other name of Ahmad, which is derived from the same 
root as Muhammad, and of the same import. From these 
or some other forgeries of the same stamp it is that the 
Muhammadans quote several passages of which there are 
not the least footsteps in the New Testament. But after 
all, we must not hence infer that the Muhammadans, 
much less all of them, hold these copies of theirs to be 
the ancient and genuine Scriptures themselves. If any 
argue, from the corruption which they insist has happened 
to the Pentateuch and Gospel, that the Quran may 
possibly be corrupted also, they answer that Gop has pro- 
mised that, he will take care of the latter, and preserve 
it from any addition or diminution ;® but that he left 
the two other to the care of men. However, they confess 
there are some various readings in the Quran,’ as has been 
observed. 

Besides the books above mentioned, the Muhammadans 
also take notice of the writings of Daniel and several other 


1 Reland, ubi supra. 4 See Toland’s Nazarenus, the 
2 Menagian, tom. iv. p. 321, first eight chapters. 

&e. 5 Cap. 61, v. 6. 
3 John xiv. 16, 26, xv. 26, and xvi. 6 Qurdén, €715; v- 9: 


7, compared with Luke xxiv. 49. 7 Reland, ubi supra, pp. 24, 27. 


SEC. Iv.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 125 


prophets, and even make quotations thence; but these 
they do not believe to be divine scripture, or of any 
authority in matters of religion.? 

The number of the prophets which have been from time 
to time sent by Gop into the world amounts to no less 
than 224,000, according to one Muhammadan tradition, 
or to 124,000 according to another; among whom 313 
were apostles, sent with special commissions to reclaim 
mankind from infidelity and superstition, and six of 
them brought new laws or dispensations, which succes- 
sively abrogated the preceding: these were Adam, Noah, 
Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. All the pro- 
phets in general the Muhammadans believe to have been 
free from great sins and errors of consequence, and pro- 
fessors of one and the same religion, that is, Islam, not- 
withstanding the different laws and institutions which 
they observed. They allow of degrees among them, and 
hold some of them to be more excellent and honourable than 
others.2 The first place they give to the revealers and estab- 
lishers of new dispensations, and the next to the apostles. 

In this great number of prophets they not only reckon 
divers patriarchs and persons named in Scripture, but not 
recorded to have been prophets (wherein the Jewish and 
Christian writers have sometimes led the way ?), as Adam, 
Seth, Lot, Ismail, Nun, Joshua, &c., and introduce some 
of them under different names, as Enoch, Heber, and 
Jethro, who are called in the Quran Idris, Hud, and 
Shuaib, but several others whose very names do not 
appear in Scripture (though they endeavour to find some 
persons there to fix them on), as Salih, Khidhar, Dhu’l Kifl, 
&e, Several of their fabulous traditions concerning these 
prophets we shall occasionally mention in the notes on 
the Quran. 


1 Reland, ubi supra, p. 41. p. 2), and Adam by Epiphanius 
2 Quran, c. 2, v. 253, &e. (Adv. Heres. p. 6). See also 
3 Thus Heber is said tohave been Joseph., Ant., 1. 1, c. 2. 

a prophet by the Jews (Seder Olam., 


The pro- 
phets recog- 
nised by 
Islam. 


Muhammad 
appeals to 
the Bible in 
proof of his 
mission. 


Doctrine of 
the resur- 
rection, 


126 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


As Muhammad acknowledged the divine authority of 
the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel, he often appeals to 
the consonancy of the Quran with those writings, and to 
the prophecies which he pretended were therein concern- 
ing himself, as proofs of his mission; and he frequently 
charges the Jews and Christians with stifling the passages 
which bear witness to him! His followers also fail not to 
produce several texts even from our present copies of the 
Old and New Testament to support their master’s cause.” * 

The next article of faith required by the Quran is the 
belief of a general resurrection and a future judgment. 
But before we consider the Muhammadan tenets in those 
points, it will be proper to mention what they are taught 
to believe concerning the intermediate state, both of the 
body and of the soul, after death. 


* For example, Deut. xviii. 15-18, where the Lord promises to 
raise up a prophet for the children of Israel from among their breth- 
ven, Muslims argue that the Israelites had no brethren excepting 
the Ismailites, from whom Muhammad was descended. This argu- 
ment is strengthened, they say, by the further statement that this 
prophet should be like unto Moses. Again, Deut. xxxiv. 10, declares 
that “there arose no prophet an Jsrael like unto Moses ;” Habakkuk 
ili. 3 says, “ The Holy One came from Mount Paran.” Mount Paran 
is declared by the Muslims to be Makkah ! 

The Hebrew word 79M translated desire in Hag. ii. 7, is said to 
be the same as the name Muhammad. The same word is trans- 
lated beloved in Cant. ii. 3. Wherefore we are called upon to behold 
the very name of the Arabian prophet in the Bible ! 

When we read in Isaiah, in the Septuagint version, chap. xxi. 7, 
that he saw “ two riders, one on an ass and one on a camel,” we are 
to understand the rider on the ass to refer to Jesus, who so entered 
Jerusalem, while the rider on a camel refers to Muhammad. When 
John the Baptist was asked if he were the Christ, or Elijah, or 
“that prophet,” Muhammadans claim that the words “that pro- 
phet” refer to Muhammad, &c., &, See Hssays on the Life of Mu- 
hammad, by Syed Ahmed Khan Bahadr, C.8.1. E. M. W. 








1 Quran, ¢. 2, vv. 41, 78; ¢.3, 11. Life of Mahomet, and more by 
2 Some of these texts are produced Marracci in Alcor., p. 26, &c. 
by Dr. Prideaux at the end of his 


SEC. IVv.] THE-PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 127 


When a corpse is laid in the grave, they say he 1s concerning 

received by an angel, who gives hen notice of the coming tienduatte 
of the two examiners, ite are two black, livid angels, of 
a terrible appearance, named Munkir and Nakir. These 
order the dead person to sit upright, and examine him 
concerning his faith, as to the unity of Gop and the mis- 
sion of Muhammad: if he answer rightly, they suffer the 
body to rest in peace, and it is refreshed by the air of 
paradise; but if not, they beat him on the temples with 
iron maces, till he roars out for anguish so loud, that he 
is heard by all from ,east to west, except men and genii. 
Then they press the earth on the corpse, which is gnawed 
and stung till the resurrection by ninety-nine dragons, 
with seven heads each; or, as others say, their sins will 
become venomous beasts, the grievous ones stinging like 
dragons, the smaller lke scorpions, and the others like 
serpents: circumstances which some understand in a ficu- 
rative sense, 

The examination of the sepulchre is not only founded 
on an express tradition of Muhammad, but is also plainly 
hinted at, though not directly taught, in the Quran,? as 
the commentators agree. It is therefore believed by the 
orthodox Muhammadans in general, who take care to have 
their graves made hollow, that they may sit up with more 
ease while they are examined by the angels ;? but is utterly 
rejected by the sect of the Mutazilites, and perhaps by 
some others. 

These notions Muhammad certainly borrowed from the This belief 
Jews, among whom they were very anciently received.‘ from the 
They say that the angel of death coming and sitting on ie 
the grave, the soul immediately enters the body and raises 
it on his feet; that he then examines the departed person, 
and strikes him with a chain half of iron and half of fire; 





1 Al Ghazdli. Vide Poc., not. in 3 Smith, De Morib. et Instit. Tur- 
Port. Mosis, p. 241, &c. car. Ep. 2, p. 57. 

2 Uap. 8, v. 52, and ¢, 47, ¥. 29, 4 Vide Hyde, in Notis ad Boboy. 
weds de Visit. Aigrot., p. 19. 


The state of 
Al Barzakh : 
various 
opinions. 


128 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SeCp iy: 


at the first blow all his limbs are loosened, at the second 
his bones are scattered, which are gathered together again 
by angels, and the third stroke reduces the body to dust 
and ashes, and it returns into the grave. This rack or 
torture they call Hubbuit haqgeber, or the beating of the 
sepulchre, and pretend that all men in general must undergo 
it, except only those who die on the evening of the Sab- 
bath, or have dwelt in the land of Israel. 

If it be objected to the Muhammadans that the cry of 
the persons under such examination has never been heard, 
or if they be asked how those can undergo it whose bodies’ 
are burnt or devoured by beasts or birds, or otherwise 
consumed without burial; they answer, that it is very 
possible notwithstanding, since men are not able to per- 
ceive what is transacted on the other side the grave, and 
that it is sufficient to restore to hfe any part of the body 
which is capable of understanding the questions put by 
the angels. 

As to the soul, they hold that when it is separated from 
the body by the angel of death, who performs his office with 
ease and gentleness towards the good and with violence 
towards the wicked,’ it enters into that state which they 
eall Al Barzakh,* or the interval between death and the 
resurrection. If the departed person was a believer, they 
say two angels meet it, who convey it to heaven, that its 
place there may be assigned, according to its merit and 
degree. For they distinguish the souls of the faithful 
into three classes: the first of prophets, whose souls are 
admitted into paradise immediately ; the second of mar- 
tyrs, whose spirits, according to a tradition of Muhammad, 
rest in the crops of green birds which eat of the fruits and 
drink of the rivers of paradise; and the third of other 





1 R. Elias, in Tishbi. See also say the same, in Nishmat bayim., f. 
Buxtorf, Synag. Judaic., and Lexic. 77. 
Talmud. 4 Vide Qurdn, c. 23, v. IOI, and 
2 Vide Poce., ubi sup. not. ib. 
3 Qurdn, c. 79, v. I. The Jews 


\ 


secsivi|. THE PRELIMINARY. DISCOURSE. 129 


believers, concerning the state of whose souls before the 
resurrection there are various opinions. For, 1. Some say 
they stay near the sepulchres, with liberty, however, of 
going wherever they please; which they confirm from 
Muhammad’s manner of saluting them at their graves, 
and his affirming that the dead heard those salutations as 
- well as the living, though they could not answer. Whence 
perhaps proceeded the custom of visiting the tombs of rela- 
tions, so common among the Muhammadans,.’ 2. Others 
imagine they are with Adam in the lowest heaven, and 
also support their opinion by the authority of their pro- 
phet, who gave out that in his return from the upper 
heavens in his pretended night journey, he saw there the 
souls of those who were destined to paradise on the richt 
hand of Adam, and of those who were condemned to hell 
on his left.2 3. Others fancy the souls of believers remain 
in the well Zamzam, and those of infidels in a certain well 
in the province of Hadramaut, called Burhut; but this 
opinion is branded as heretical. 4. Others say they stay 
near the graves for seven days; but that whither they go 
afterwards is uncertain. 5. Others that they are all in 
the trumpet whose sound is to raise the dead. 6. And 
others that the souls of the good dwell in the forms of 
white birds under the throne of Gop.? As to the condi- 
tion of the souls of the wicked, besides the opinions that 
have been already mentioned, the more orthodox hold that 
they are offered by the angels to heaven, from whence 
being repulsed as stinking and filthy, they are offered to 
the earth, and being also refused a place there, are carried 
down to the seventh earth, and thrown into a dungeon, 
which they call Sajin, under a green rock, or, according to 
a tradition of Muhammad, under the devil’s jaw,* to be 





? Poc., ubi sup., 247. throne of glory. Vide ibid., p. 156. 
2 Thid., p. 248. Consonant hereto Se lit Has SO, 
are the Jewish notions of the souls 4 Al Baidhéwi. Vide Poc., ubi 


of the just being on high, under the sup., p. 252.) 


The resur- 
rection of 
the body: 
opinions ot 
Muslims. 


130 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. Iv: 


there tormented till they are called up to be joined again 
to their bodies. 

Though some among the Muhammadans have thought 
that the resurrection will be merely spiritual, and no more 
than the returning of the soul to the place whence it first 
came (an opinion defended by Ibn Sina,! and called by 
some the opinion of the philosophers); and others, who 
allow man to consist of body only, that it will be merely 
corporeal; the received opinion is, that both body and 
soul will be raised, and their doctors argue strenuously for 
the possibility of the resurrection of the body, and dispute 
with great subtlety concerning the manner of it3 But 
Muhammad has taken care to preserve one part of the 
body, whatever becomes of the rest, to serve for a basis of 
the future edifice, or rather a leaven for the mass which is 
to be joined to it. For he taught that a man’s body was 
entirely consumed by the earth, except only the bone 
called al Ajb, which we name the os coccygis, or rump- 


bone; and that as it was the first formed in the human 


body, it will also remain uncorrupted till the last day, as 
a seed from whence the whole is to be renewed: and this 
he said would be effected by a forty days’ rain which 
Gop should send, and which would cover the earth to the 
height of twelve cubits, and cause the bodies to sprout 
forth like plants Herein also is Muhammad beholden 
to the Jews, who say the same things of the bone Luz,® 
excepting that what he attributes to a great rain will be 
effected, according to them, by a dew impregnating the 
dust of the earth. 

The time of the resurrection the Muhammadans allow 
to be a perfect secret to all but Gop alone: the angel 
Gabriel himself acknowledging his ignorance on this point 








1 Or, as we corruptly name him, 4 Idem, ibid., p. 255, &e. 
Avicenna. 5 Bereshit. rabbah, &c. Vide 
2 Kenz al airdr. Poc., ubi sup., p. 117, &¢, 


3 Vide Poe., ubi sup., p. 254. 


> 
. Se 


SHG IY. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. rae 


when Muhammad asked him about it. However, they say 

the approach of that day may be known from certain signs Signa of the 
which are to precede it. These signs they distinguish aay. 
into two sorts—the lesser and the oreater—which I shall 
briefly enumerate after Dr. Pocock.! 

The lesser signs are: 1. The decay of faith among men.? Lesser signs 
gre be advancing of the meanest persons to eminent dig- proach. 
nity. 3. That a maid-servant shall become the mother of 
her mistress (or master), by which is meant either that 
towards the end of the world men shall be much given 
to sensuality, or that the Muhammadans shall then take 
many captives. 4. Tumults and seditions. 5. A war. 
witlr the Turks. 6. Great distress in the world, so that a 
man when he passes by another's grave shall say, “ Would 
to Gop I were in his place.” 7. That the provinces of 
Irak and Syria shall refuse to pay their tribute. And, 8. 

That the buildings of Madina shall reach to Ahab or 
Yahab. 

The greater signs are: 

1. The sun’s rising in the west, which some have ima- Greater 
gined it originally did fos 

2. The appearance of the beast, which shall rise out of 
the earth, in the temple of Makkah, or on Mount Safa, or 
in the territory of Tayif, or some other place. This beast 
they say is to be sixty cubits high: though others, not 
satisfied with so small a size, will have her reach to the 
clouds and to heaven when her head only is out; and that 
she will appear for three days, but show only a third part 
of her body. They describe this monster, as to her form, to 
be a compound of various species, having the head of a bull, 
the eyes of a hog, the ears of an elephant, the horns of a 
stag, the neck of an ostrich, the breast of a lion, the colour 
of a tiger, the back of a cat, the tail of a ram, the legs of 
a camel, and the voice of an ass. Some say this beast is 





1 Vide Poc., ubi sup., p. 258, &e. 3 See Whiston’s Theory of the 
2 See Luke xviii, 8. Earth, bk. ii. p. 98, &c. 


132 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 1SECs-1V 


to appear three times in several places, and that she will 
bring with her the rod of Moses and the seal of Solomon ; 
and being so swift that none can overtake or escape her, 
will with the first strike all the believers on the face and 
mark them with the word Mumin, z.¢., believer; and with 
the latter will mark the unbelievers, on the face likewise, 
with the word Kafir, 2.¢., infidel, that every person may 
be known for what he really is. They add that the same 
beast is to demonstrate the vanity of all religions except 
Islam, and to speak Arabic. All this stuff seems to be 
the result of a confused idea of the beast in the Revela- 
tion.! 

3. War with the Greeks, and the taking of Constan- 
tinople by 70,000 of the posterity of Isaac, who shall not 
win that city by force of arms, but the walls shall fall 
down while they cry out, “There is no god but Gop: Gob 
is most great!” As they are dividing the spoil, news will 
come to them of the appearance of Antichrist, whereupon 
they shall leave all, and return back. 

4. The coming of Antichrist, whom the Muhammadans 
call al Masth al Dajjal, z.¢., the false or lying Christ, and 
simply al Dajjal. He is to be one-eyed, and marked ‘on 
the forehead with the letters K.F.R., signifying Kafir, or 
infidel. They say that the Jews give him the name of 
Messiah Ben David, and pretend he is to come in the last 
days and to be lord both of land and sea, and that he will 
restore the kingdom to them. According to the traditions 
of Muhammad, he is to appear first between Irak and Syria, 
or according to others, in the province of Khurdasan; ‘they 
add that he is to ride on an ass, that he will be followed 
by 70,000 Jews of Ispahan, and continue on earth forty 
days, of which one will be equal in length to a year, another 
to a month, another to a week, and the rest will be common 
days; that he is to lay waste all places, but will not enter 
Makkah or Madina, which are to be guarded by angels; 


1 Chap. xiii. 


SEC. Iv.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 133 


and that at length he will be slain by Jesus, who is to 
encounter him at the gate of Lud. It is said that Mu- 
hammad foretold several Antichrists, to the number of 
about thirty, but one of greater note than the rest. 

5. The descent of Jesus on earth. They pretend that 
he is to descend near the white tower to the east of 
Damascus, when the people are returned from the taking 
of Constantinople; that he is to embrace the Muham- 
madan religion, marry a wife, get children, kill Antichrist, 
and at length die after forty years’, or, according to others, 
twenty-four years’, continuance on earth. Under him 
they say there will be great security and plenty in the 
world, all hatred and malice being laid aside; when lions 
and camels, bears and sheep, shall live in peace, and a 
child shall play with serpents unhurt.? 

6. War with the Jews, of whom the Muhammadans 
are to make a religious slaughter, the very trees and stones 
discovering such of them as hide themselves, except only 
the tree called Gharkad, which is the tree of the Jews. 

7. The eruption of Gog and Magog, or, as they are 
called in the East, Yajuj and Majuj, of whom many 
things are related in the Quran? and the traditions of 
Muhammad. These barbarians, they tell us, having passed 
the lake of Tiberias, which the vanguard of their vast army 
will drink dry, will come to Jerusalem, and there greatly 
distress Jesus and his companions; till at his request 
Gop will destroy them, and fill the earth with their car- 
cases, which after some time Gop will send birds to carry 
away, at the prayers of Jesus and his followers. Their 
bows, arrows, and quivers the Muslims will burn for 
seven years together;* and at last Gop will send a rain 
to cleanse the earth, and to make it fertile. 

8. A smoke which shall fill the whole earth. 


1 Al Thaldbi, in Quran, c. 4. 5 See Quran, c. 44, v. 10, and the 
2 See Isaiah xi. 6, &c. notes thereon. Compare also Joel ii. 
3 Cap. 18, v. 96, and 21, v. 96. 20, and Rev. ix. 2. 

4 See Ezek. xxxix. 9; Rev. xx. 8. 


134 THE PRELIMINARY DISGOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


g. An eclipse of the. moon. Muhammad is reported to 
have said that there would be three eclipses before the 
last hour; one to be seen in the East, another in the West, 
and the third in Arabia. 

10. The returning of the Arabs to the worship of al Lat 
and al Uzza and the rest of their ancient idols, after the 
decease of every one in whose heart there was faith equal 
to a grain of mustard-seed, none but the very worst of men 
being left alive. For Gop, they say, will send a cold 
odoriferous wind, blowing from Syria Damascena, which 
shall sweep away the souls of all the faithful, and the 
Quran itself, so that men will remain in the grossest 
ignorance for a hundred years. 

11. The discovery of a vast heap of gold and silver by 
the retreating of the Euphrates, which will be the destruc- 
tion of many. 

12. The demolition of the Kaabah or temple of Makkah 
by the Ethiopians.* 

13. The speaking of beasts and inanimate things. 

14. The breaking out of fire in the province of Hijaz; 
or, according to others, in Yaman. 

15. The appearance of a man of the descendants’ of 
Q@ahtan, who shall drive men before him with his staff. 

16. The coming of the Mahdi or director, concerning 
whom Muhammad prophesied that the world should not 
have an end till one of his own family should govern the 
Arabians, whose name should be the same with his own 
name, and whose father’s name should also be the same 
with his father’s name, who should fill the earth with 
righteousness.* This person the Shiites believe to be now 








* An account of a remarkable movement among Indian Muslims, 
aroused during the eleventh century (4.H.) by the expected advent 
of the Im4m Mahdi, is given in F. Talboys Wheeler’s History of 
India, vol. iv. part 1. pp. 151-153. E. M. W. 


1 See post, in this section. 


SEC.Iv.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 135 


alive, and concealed in some secret place till the time of 
his manifestation ; for they suppose him to be no other 
than the last of the twelve Imams, named Muhammad 
Abu’l Qasim, as their prophet was, and the son of Hasan 
al Askari, the eleventh of that succession. He was born 
at Sarmanrai in the 255th year of the Hijrat From this 
tradition, it is to be presumed, an opinion pretty current 
among the Christians took its rise, that the Muhammadans 
are in expectation of their prophet’s return. 

17. A wind which shall sweep away the souls of all 
who have but a grain of faith in their hearts, as has been 
mentioned under the tenth sign. 

These are the greater signs, which, according to their 
doctrine, are to precede the resurrection, but still leave 
the hour of it uncertain: for the immediate sign of its 
being come will be the first blast of the trumpet, which the blast 
they believe will be sounded three times. The first they recto a 
call the blast of consternation, at the hearing of which all iar 
creatures in heaven and earth shall be struck with terror, 
except those whom GoD shall please to exempt from it. 
The effects attributed to this first sound of the trumpet Effects of 

< he first 

are very wonderful; for they say the earth will be shaken, blast. 
and not only all buildings, but the very mountains 
levelled; that the heavens shall melt, the sun be darkened, 
the stars fall, on the death of the angels, who, as some 
imagine, hold them suspended between heaven and earth, 
and the sea shall be troubled and dried up, or, according 
to others, turned into flames, the sun, moon, and stars 
being thrown into it: the Quran, to express the greatness 
of the terror of that day, adds that women who give suck 
shall abandon the care of their infants, and even the she- 
camels which have gone ten months with young (a most 
valuable part of the substance of that nation) shall be 
utterly neglected. A further effect of this blast will be 
that concourse of beasts mentioned in the Quran,? though 








1 Vide D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., p. 531. 2 Cap. 81, y..5. 


Effects’ of 
the second 
blast. 


Effects of 
the third 
blast- 


136 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. (SEC. IVs 


some doubt whether it be to precede the resurrection or 
not. They who suppose it will precede, think that all 
kinds of animals, forgetting their respective natural fierce- 
ness and timidity, will run together into one place, being 
terrified by the sound of the trumpet and the sudden 
shock of nature. 

The Muhammadans believe that this first blast will be 
followed by a second, which they call the blast of examina- 
tion,t when all creatures, both in heaven and earth, shall 
die or be annihilated, except those which Gop shall please 
to exempt from the common fate;? and this, they say, 
shall happenin the twinkling of an eye, nay, in an instant, 
nothing surviving except Gop alone, with paradise and 
hell, and the inhabitants of those two places, and the 
throne of glory.2 The last who shall die will be the angel 
of death. 

Forty years after this will be heard the blast of resurrec- 
tion, when the trumpet shall be sounded the third time by 
Israfil, who, together with Gabriel and Michael, will be 
previously restored to life, and standing on the rock of the 
temple of Jerusalem,* shall, at Gop’s command, call to- 
gether all the dry and rotten bones, and other dispersed 
parts of the bodies, and the very hairs, to judgment. This 
angel having, by the divine order, set the trumpet to his 
mouth, and called together all the souls from all parts, 
will throw them into his trumpet, from whence, on his 
giving the last sound, at the command of GoD, they will 
fly forth like bees, and fill the whole space between heaven 
and earth, and then repair to their respective bodies, which 





1 Several writers, however, make 
no distinction between this blast and 
the first, supposing the trumpet will 
sound but twice. See the notes to 
Qurdn, c. 39, v. 68. 

2 Qurdn, c. 30, v. 14. 

3 To these some add the spirit 
who bears the waters on which the 
throne is placed, the preserved table 
wherein the decrees of God are 


registered, and the pen wherewith 
they are written ; all which things 
the Muhammadans imagine were 
created before the world. 

4 In this circumstance the Mu- 
hammadans follow the Jews, who 
also agree that the trumpet will 
sound more than once. Vide R. 
Bechaiin Biur hattorah, and Otioth 
shel R. Akiba. 


e \ 


~~ 1v.] | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 137 

the opening earth will suffer to arise; and the first who 
shall so arise, according to a tradition of Muhammad, will 
be himself. For this birth the earth will be prepared by 
the rain above mentioned, which is to fall continually for 
forty years,! and will resemble the seed of a man, and be 
supplied from the water under the throne of Gop, which 
is called living water ; by the efficacy and virtue of which 
the dead bodies. shall spring forth from their graves, as 
they did in their mother’s womb, or as corn sprouts forth 
by common rain, till they become perfect; after which 
breath will be breathed into them, and they will sleep in 
their sepulchres till they are raised to life at the last 
trump. 

As to the length of the day of judgment, the Quran in osha: 
one place tells us that it will last 1000 years,? and in an- ment-day. 
other 50,000.2 To reconcile this apparent contradiction, 
the commentators use several shifts: some saying they 
know not what measure of time Gop intends in those pas- 
sages; others, that these forms of speaking are ficurative 
and not to be strictly taken, and were designed only to 
express the terribleness of that day, it being usual for the 
Arabs to describe what they dislike as of long continuance, 
and what they hke as the contrary ; and others suppose 
them spoken only in reference to the difficulty of the 
business of the day, which, if Gop should commit to any 
of his creatures, they would not be able to go through it 
in so many thousand years; to omit some other opinions 
which we may take notice of elsewhere. 

Having said so much in relation to the time of the 
resurrection, let us now see who are to be raised from the 
dead, in what manner and form they shall be raised, in 
what place they shall be assembled, and to what end, 
according to the doctrine of the Muhammadans. 


1 Elsewhere (see supra, p. 130) this to fall during the whole interval 
rain is said to continue only forty between the second and third blasts. 
days; but it rather seems that it is 4 Quran, c! 32; vi 4. 

Pel bidsch70, veld. 


Resurrec- 
tion to be) 
general. 


Manner of 
the rising 
of the dead. 


138 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


That the resurrection will be general, and extend to all 
creatures, both angels, genii, men, and animals, is the 
received opinion, which they support by the authority of 
the Quran, though that passage which is produced to prove 
the resurrection of brutes be otherwise interpreted by 
some.? 

The manner of their resurrection will be very different. 
Those who are destined to be partakers of eternal happi- 
ness will arise in honour and security; and those who are 
doomed to misery, in disgrace and under dismal appre- 
hensions. As to mankind, they say that they will be 
raised perfect in all their parts and members, and in the 
same state as they came out of their mother’s wombs, 
that is, barefooted, naked, and uncircumcised ; which cir- 
cumstances when Muhammad was telling his wife Ayesha, 
she, fearing the rules of modesty might be thereby violated, 
objected that it would be very indecent for men and 
women to look upon one another in that condition; but 
he answered her, that the business of the day would be 
too weighty and serious to allow them the making use of 
that liberty. Others, however, allege the authority of 
their prophet for a contrary opinion as to their nakedness, 
and pretend he asserted that the dead should arise dressed 
in the same clothes in which they died ;? unless we inter- 
pret these words, as some do, not so much of the outward 
dress of the body, as the inward clothing of the mind, 
and understand thereby that every person will rise again 
in the same state as to his faith or infidelity, his know- 
ledge or ignorance, his good or bad works. Muhammad 
is also said to have further taught, by another tradition, 
that mankind shall be assembled at the last day distin- 
euished into three classes. The first, of those who go on 





1 See the notes to Quran, c. 81, rise clothed, it is no wonder the 
v. 5, and supra, page 136. pious who are buried in their clothes 
2 In this also they follow their should rise with them. Gemar, 
old guides, the Jews, who say that Sanhedr., fol. go. 
if the wheat which is sown naked 





SEC. Iv. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 139 


foot ; the second, of those who ride; and the third, of 
those who creep grovelling with their faces on the ground. 
The first class is to consist of those believers whose good 
works have been few; the second of those who are in 
ereater honour with Gop, and more acceptable to him; 
whence Ali affirmed that the pious when they come forth 
from their sepulehres shall find ready prepared for them 
white-winged camels with saddles of gold, wherein are 
to be observed some footsteps of the doctrine of the ancient 
Arabians ;* and the third class, they say, will be composed 
of the infidels, whom Gop shall cause to make their ap- 
pearance with their faces on the earth, blind, dumb, and 
deaf. But the ungodly will not be thus only distinguished ; 
for, according to a tradition of the prophet, there will be 
ten sorts of wicked men on whom GoD shall on that day 
fix certain discretory remarks. The first will appear in 
the form of apes; these are the professors of Zendicism: 
the second in that of swine; these are they who have 
been greedy of filthy lucre and enriched themselves by 
public oppression: the third will be brought with their 
heads reversed and their feet distorted; these are the 
usurers: the fourth will wander about blind; these are 
unjust judges: the fifth will be deaf, dumb, and blind, 
understanding nothing; these are they who glory in their 
own works: the sixth will gnaw their tongues, which will 
hang down upon their breasts, corrupted blood flowing 
from their mouths like spittle, so that everybody shall 
detest them; these are the learned men and doctors, whose 
actions contradict their sayings: the seventh will have 
their hands and feet cut off; these are they who have 
injured their neighbours: the eighth will be fixed to the 
trunks of palm trees or stakes of wood; these are the 
false accusers and informers: the ninth will stink worse 
than a corrupted corpse; these are they who have indulged 
their passions and voluptuous appetites, but refused Gop 


1 See supra, Sect. I., p. 43. 


The place 
of final 
judgment. 


End of the 
resurrec- 
tion, 


State of the 
resurrected 
pending 
judgment. 


~ 


140 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE, [SEC. IV. 


such part of their wealth as was due to him: the tenth 
will be clothed with garments daubed with pitch; and 
these are the proud, the vainglorious, and the arrogant, 

As to the place where they are to be assembled to judg- 
ment, the Quran and the traditions of Muhammad agree 
that it will be on the earth, but in what part of the earth 
itis not agreed. Some say their prophet mentioned Syria 
for the place; others, a white and even tract of land, with- 
out inhabitants or any signs of buildings. Al Ghazali 
imagines it will be a second earth, which he supposes to 
be of silver; and others, an earth which has nothing in 
common with ours but the name; having, it is possible, 
heard something of the new heavens and new earth 
mentioned in Scripture: whence the Quran has this ex- 
pression, “ On the day wherein the earth shall be changed 
into another earth.” } 

The end of the resurrection the Muhammadans declare 
to be, that they who are so raised may give an account of 
their actions and receive the reward thereof. And they 
believe that not only mankind, but the genii and irrational 
animals also,? shall be judged on this great day, when the 
unarmed cattle shall take vengeance on the horned, till 
entire satisfaction shall be given to the injured.? 

As to mankind, they hold that when they are all 
assembled together, they will not be immediately brought 
to judgment, but the angels will keep them in their ranks 
and order while they attend for that purpose; and this 
attendance some say is to last forty years, others seventy, 








1 Cap. 14, Vv. 49. 

2 Quran, c. 6, v. 37. Vide Mai- 
monid., More Nev., part iii. c. 17. 

3 This opinion the learned Greaves 
supposed to have taken its rise from 
the following words of Ezekiel, 
wrongly understood: “And as for 
ye, O my flock, thus saith the Lord 
God, Behold I, even I, will judge 
between the fat cattle, and between 
the lean cattle; because ye have 
thrust with side and with shoulder, 


and pushed all the diseased with 
your horns, till ye have scattered 
them abroad ; therefore will I save 
my flock, and they shall no more be 
a prey, and I will judge between 
cattle and cattle,” &c. (Ezek. xxxiv. 
17, 20-22). Much might be said 
concerning brutes deserving future 
reward and punishment. See Bayle, 
Dict. Hist. Art. Rorarius, Rem. D., 
&e. ° 


SEC. IV. ] THE PRELIMINARY. DISCOURSE, 14! 


others 300, nay, some say no less than 50,000 years, each 
of them vouching their prophet’s authority. During this 
space they will stand looking up to heaven, but without 
receiving any information or orders thence, and are to suffer 
grievous torments, both the just and the unjust, though 
with manifest difference. For the limbs of the former, 
particularly those parts which they used to wash in making 
the ceremonial ablution before prayer, shall shine gloriously, 
and their sufferings shall be light in comparison, and shall 
last no longer than the time necessary to say the appointed 
prayers; but the latter will have their faces obscured with 
blackness, and disfigured with all the marks of sorrow and 
deformity. What will then occasion not the least of their 
pain is a wonderful and incredible sweat, which will even 
stop their mouths, and in which they will be immersed in 
various degrees according to their demerits, some to the 
ankles only, some to the knees, some to the middle, some 
so hich as their mouth, and others as their ears. And this 
sweat, they say, will be provoked not only by that vast 
concourse of all sorts of creatures mutually pressing and 
treading on one another’s feet, but by the near and unusual 
approach of the sun, which will be then no farther from 
them than the distance of a mile, or, as some translate the 
word, the signification of which is ambiguous, than the 
length of a bodkin. So that their skulls will boil hke a 
pot, and they will be all bathed in sweat. From this 
inconvenience, however, the good will be protected by the 
shade of Gop’s throne; but the wicked will be so miserably 
tormented with it, and also with hunger, and thirst, and a 
stifling air, that they will cry out, “Lord, deliver us from 
this anguish, though thou send us into hell-fire.” 2 What 
they fable of the extraordinary heat of the sun on this 
occasion, the Muhammadans certainly borrowed from the 
Jews, who say, that for the punishment of the wicked on 
the last day that planet shall be drawn from its sheath, 


1 Al Ghazali. 2 Tdem. 


Muham- 
mad’s inter- 
cession in 
the judg- 
ment. 


The great 
day of 
assizes, 


142 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


in which it is now put up, lest it should destroy all things 
by its excessive heat.1 

When those who have risen shall have waited the limited 
time, the Muhammadans believe Gop will at length ap- 
pear to judge them; Muhammad undertaking the office 
of intercessor, after it shall have been declined by Adam, 
Noah, Abraham, and Jesus, who shall beg deliverance only - 
for their own souls. They say that on this solemn occa- 
sion Gop will come in the clouds, surrounded by angels, 
and will produce the books wherein the actions of every 
person are recorded by their guardian angels,” and will 
command the prophets to bear witness against those to 
whom they have been respectively sent. Then every one 
will be examined concerning all his words and actions, 
uttered and done by him in this life; not as if Gop needed 
any information in those respects, but to oblige the person 
to make public confession and acknowledgment of Gop’s 
justice. The particulars of which they shall give an account, 
as Muhammad himself enumerated them, are—of their 
time, how they spent it; of their wealth, by what means 
they acquired it and how they employed it; of their 
bodies, wherein they exercised them; of their knowledge 
and learning, what use they made of them. It is said, 
however, that Muhammad has affirmed that no less than 
70,000 of his followers should be permitted to enter para- 
dise without any previous examination, which seems to be 
contradictory to what is said above. To the questions we 
have mentioned each person shall answer, and make his 
defence in the best manner he can, endeavouring to excuse 
himself by casting the blame of his evil deeds on others, 
so that a dispute shall arise even between the soul and 
the body, to which of them their guilt ought to be imputed, 
the soul saying, “O Lord, my body I received from thee ; 
for thou createdst me without a hand to lay hold with, 





1 Vide Pocock, not. in Port. Mosis, p. 277. 
2 See supra, p. 120. 


SEC. Iv.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 143 


a foot to walk with, an eye to see with, or an understand- 
ing to apprehend with, till I came and entered into this 
body; therefore, punish it eternally, but deliver me.” 
The body, on the other side, will make this apology :—“O 
Lord, thou createdst me like a stock of wood, having 
neither hand that I could lay hold with, nor foot that I 
could walk with, till this soul, like a ray of light, entered 
into me, and my tongue began to speak, my eye to see, 
and my foot to walk; therefore, punish it eternally, but 
deliver me.” But Gop will propound to them the following 
parable of the blind man and the lame man, which, as well 
as the preceding dispute, was borrowed by the Muham- 
madans from the Jews:!—A certain king, having a pleasant 
garden, in which were ripe fruits, set two persons to keep 
it, one of whom was blind and the other lame, the former 
not being able to see the fruit nor the latter to gather it; 
the lame man, however, seeing the fruit, persuaded the 
blind man to take him upon his shoulders; and by that 
means he easily gathered the fruit, which they divided 
between them. The lord of the garden, coming some time 
after, and inquiring after his fruit, each began to excuse 
himself; the blind man said he had no eyes to see with, 
and the lame man that he had no feet to approach the 
trees. But the king, ordering the lame man to be set on 
the blind, passed sentence on and punished them both. 
And in the same manner will Gop deal with the body and 
the soul, As these apologies will not avail on that day, 
so will it also be in vain for any one to deny his evil 
actions, since men and angels and his own members, nay, 
the very earth itself, will be ready to bear witness against 
him. 
Though the Muhammadans assign so long a space for Time al- 

the attendance of the resuscitated before their trial, yet the tial 
they tell us the trial itself will be over in much less time, 


1 Gemara, Sanhedr. c. 11; R. Jos, Albo, Serm. iv. c. 33. See also 
Epiphan, in Ancorat., sect. $9. 


144 THE PRELIMINARY. DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


and, according to an expression of Muhammad, familiar 
enouch to the Arabs, will last no longer than while one 
may milk an ewe, or than the space between the two 
milkines of a she-camel.1 Some, explaining those words 
so frequently used in the Quran, “Gop will be swift in 
taking an account,” say that he will judge all creatures 
in the space of half a day, and others that it will be done 
in less time than the twinkling of an eye.? 

The account At this examination they also believe that each person 

vered. will have the book wherein all the actions of his life are 
written delivered to him; which books the righteous will 
receive in their right hand, and read with great pleasure 
and satisfaction, but the ungodly will be obliged to take 
them against their wills in their left? which will be 
bound behind their backs, their right hand being tied up 
to their necks.* 

The great To show the exact justice which will be observed on 

described, this great day of trial, the next thing they describe is the 
balance wherein all things shall be weighed. They say 
it will be held by Gabriel, and that it is of so vast a size, 
that its two scales, one of which hangs over paradise, and 
the other over hell, are capacious enough to contain both 
heaven and earth. Though some are willing to under- 
stand what is said in the Quran concerning this balance 
allegorically, and only as a figurative representation of 
Gop’s equity, yet the more ancient and orthodox opinion 
is that it is to be taken literally; and since words and 
actions, being mere accidents, are not capable of being 
themselves weighed, they say that the books wherein 
they are written will be thrown into the scales, and 
according as those wherein the good or the evil actions 


1 The Arabs use, after they have 2 Pocock, not. in Port. Mosis, pp. 
drawn some milk from the camel, 278-282. See also Quréin, c. 2, y. 
to wait a while and let her young 201. 
one suck a little, that she may give 3 Quran; hts. 12) SV OS ac 1.2. 
down her milk more plentifully at 47; c. 69, v. 25; andc. 84, vv. 7, 8. 
the second milking. 4 Jaldluddin. 


SEC. Iv. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 145 


are recorded shall preponderate, sentence will be given; 
those whose balances laden with their good works shall 
be heavy will be saved, but those whose balances are 
light will be condemned.) Nor will any one have cause 
to complain that Gop suffers any good action to pass 
unrewarded, because the wicked for the good they do 
have their reward in this life, and therefore can expect no 
favour in the next. 

The old Jewish writers make mention as well of the Notions of 
books to be produced at the last day, wherein men’s iineeee 
actions are registered,? as of the balance wherein they pati 
shall be weighed ;? and the Scripture itself seems to have eee: 
given the first notion of both. But what the Persian 
Magi believe of the balance comes nearest to the Muham- 
madan opinion. They hold that on the day of judgment 
two angels,,named Mihr and Sarosh, will stand on the 
bridge we shall describe by and by, to examine every 
person as he passes; that the former, who represents the 
divine mercy, will hold a balance in his hand to weigh 
the actions of men; that according to the report he shall 
make thereof to Gop, sentence will be pronounced, and 
those whose good works are found more ponderous, if 
they turn the scale but by the weight of a hair, will be 
permitted to pass forward to paradise; but those whose 
good works shall be found light will be by the other 
angel, who represents GoD’s justice, precipitated from the 
bridge into hell.® 

This examination being passed, and every one’s works Mutual re- ~ 
weighed in a just balance, that mutual retaliation will che oe 
follow, according to which every creature will take ven- oneal 
-geance one of another, or have satisfaction made them 
for the injuries which they have suffered. And since 











Pe Curd, C. 23, V.. 1OFs Co 7e V: oO; * HiXOG Xxx, 32, 374 Dat. vil. 
&e. 10; ev. sxx, 12) &c., and Dan; ¥. 
2 Midrash, Yalkut Shemuni, f. 27. 
153; C. 3 ° Hyde, De Rel. Vet. Pers., pp. 


3 Gemar. Sanhedr., f. 91, &c. 245, 401, &e. 


K 


Fate of the 
brutes and 
genii. 


146 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. Iv. 


there will then be no other way of returning like for hke, 
the manner of giving this satisfaction will be by taking 
away a proportionable part of the good works of him who 
offered the injury, and adding it to those of him who 
suffered it. Which being done, if the angels (by whose 
ministry this is to be performed) say, “ Lord, we have 
given to every one his due, and there remaineth of this — 
person’s good works so much as equalleth the weight of 
an ant,” Gop will of his mercy cause it to be doubled unto 
him, that he may be admitted into paradise; but if, on 
the contrary, his good works be exhausted, and there re- 
main evil works only, and there be any who have not yet 
received satisfaction from him, Gop will order that an 
equal weight of their sins be added unto his, that he may 
be punished for them in their stead, and he will be sent — 
to hell Jaden with both. This will be the method of Gon’s 
dealing with mankind. As to brutes, after they shall 
have hkewise taken vengeance of one another, as we have © 
mentioned above, he will command them to be changed 
into dust ;! wicked men being reserved to more grievous 
punishment, so that they shall cry out, on hearing this 
sentence passed on the brutes, “Would to Gop that we 
were dust also!” As to the genii, many Muhammadans 
are of opinion that such of them as are true believers will 
undergo the same fate as the irrational animals, and have 
no other reward than the favour of being converted into 
dust; and for this they quote the authority of their 
prophet. But this, however, is judged not so very reason- 
able, since the genii, being capable of putting themselves 
in the state of believers as well as men, must consequently 
deserve, as it seems, to be rewarded for their faith, as well 
as to be punished for infidelity. Wherefore some entertain 
a more favourable opinion, and assign the believing genil 
a place near the confines of paradise, where they will 


1 Yet they say the dog of the favour, be admitted into paradise. 
even sleepers and Ezra’s ass, which See Qurdn, c. 18, vv. 8-24, and 
was raised to life, will, by peculiar c. 3. 


SEC. Iv.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 147 


enjoy sufficient felicity, though they be not admitted into 
that delightful mansion. But the unbelieving geniui, it 
is universally agreed, will be punished eternally, and be 
thrown into hell with the infidels of mortal race. It may 
not be improper to observe, that under the denomination 
of unbelieving genu, the Muhammadans comprehend also 
the devil and his companions.! 

The trials being over and the assembly dissolved, the Sy ae 
Muhammadans hold that those who are to be admitted into over hell. 
paradise will take the right-hand way, and those who are 
destined to hell-fire will take the left; but both of them 
must first pass the bridge, called in ‘Arabic al Sirat, which 
they say is laid over the midst of hell, and described to be 
finer than a hair and sharper than the edge of a sword, 
so that it seems very difficult to conceive how any one 
shall be able to stand upon it; for which reason most of 
the sect of the Mutazilites reject it as a fable, though the 
orthodox think it a sufficient proof of the truth of this 
article that it was seriously affirmed by him who never 
asserted a falsehood, meaning their prophet, who, to add 
to the difficulty of the passage, has likewise declared that 
this bridge is beset on each side with briars and hooked 
thorns, which will, however, be no impediment to the good, 
for they shall pass with wonderful ease and swiftness, like 
lightning or the wind, Muhammad and his Muslims lead- 
ing the way; whereas the wicked, what with the slipperi- 
ness and extreme narrowness of the path, the entangling 
of the thorns, and the extinction of the light which 
directed the former to paradise, will soon miss their foot- 
ing, and fall down headlong into hell, which is gaping 
beneath them.” 

This circumstance Muhammad seems also to have This Bue 
borrowed from the Magians, who teach that on the last rowed from 
day all mankind will be obliged to pass a bridge which Magians, 
they call Pul Chinavad or Chinavar, that is, the straight 








1 Vide Quran, c. 18, v. 48. 2 Pocock, ubi sup., pp. 282-289. 


The seven 
apartments 
of hell 

and their 
inmates, 


THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


148 


bridge, leading directly into the other world; on the 
midst of which they suppose the angels, appointed by 
Gop to perform that office, will stand, who will require 
of every one a strict account of his actions, and weigh 
them in the manner we have already mentioned. It is 
true the Jews speak likewise of the bridge of hell, which 
they say is no broader than a thread; but then they do 
not tell us that any shall be obliged to pass it except the 
idolaters, who will fall thence into perdition.? 

As to the punishment of the wicked, the Muhamma- 
dans are taught that hell is divided into seven storeys, or 
apartments, one below another, designed for the reception 
of as many distinct classes of the damned? The first, 
which they call Jahannam, they say will be the receptacle 
of those who acknowledged one Gop, that is, the wicked 
Muhammadans, who, after having there been punished 
according to their demerits, will at leneth be released. The 
second, named Ladhwa, they assien to the Jews; the third, 
named Hutama, to the Christians; the fourth, named al 
Sair, to the Sabians; the fifth, named Sagar, to the 
Magians; the sixth, named al Jahim, to the idolaters ; 
and the seventh, which is the lowest and worst of all, 
and is called al Hawiya, to the hypocrites, or those who 
outwardly professed some religion, but in their hearts 
were of none* Over each of these apartments they 
believe there will be set a guard of angels,® nineteen in 


1 Hyde, De Rel. Vet. Pers., pp. 245, 
402, &c. 

2 Midrash, Yalkut MReubeni, § 
Gehinnom. 

2 Ouran, ¢. 15, V. 14: 

4 Others fill these apartments with 
different company. Some place in 
the second the idolaters; in the 
third, Gog and Magog, &c.; in the 
fourth, the devils; in the fifth, those 
who neglect alms and prayers ; and 
crowd the Jews, Christians, and Ma- 
gians together in the sixth. Some, 
again, will have the first to be pre- 
pared for the Dahrians, or those who 


deny the creation and believe the 
eternity of the world ; the second, 
for the Dualists, or Manichees, and 
the idolatrous Arabs ; the third, for 
the Brahmins of the Indies; the 
fourth, for the Jews ; the fifth, for 
the Christians ; and the sixth, for 
the Magians. But all agree in 
assigning the seventh to the hypo- 
crites. Vide Millium, De Moham- 
medismo ante Moham., p. 412; 
D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., p. 368, &c. 

> Quran, ¢..40, Wa 5ee Geta wane 
C.F; Ve -80, ec, 


\ 


SEC.Iv.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. —_149 


number,t to whom the damned will confess the just 
judgment of Gop, and beg them to intercede with him for 
some alleviation of their pain, or that they may be deli- 
vered by being annihilated.” 

Muhammad has, in his Quran and traditions, been very Proportion 
exact in describing the various torments of hell, which, inhen. ~ 
according to him, the wicked will suffer both from intense 
heat and excessive cold. We shall, however, enter into 
no detail of them here, but only observe that the degrees 
of these pains will also vary, in proportion to the crimes 
of the sufferer and the apartment he is condemned to; 
and that he who is punished the most lightly of all will 
be shod with shoes of fire, the fervour of which will cause 
his skull to boil like a caldron. The condition of, these 
unhappy wretches, as the same prophet teaches, cannot be 
properly called either lfe or death; and their misery will 
be greatly increased by their despair of being ever de- 
livered from that place, since, according to that frequent 
expression in the Quran, “they must remain therein for 
ever.” It must be remarked, however, that the infidels 
alone will be liable to eternity of damnation, for the Mus- 
lims, or those who have embraced the true religion, and 
have been guilty of heinous sins, will be delivered thence 
after they shall have expiated their crimes by their 
sufferings. The contrary of either of these opinions is 
reckoned heretical; for it is the constant orthodox doc- 
trine of the Muhammadans that no unbeliever or idolater 
will ever be released, nor any person who in his lifetime 
professed and believed the unity of Gop be condemned to 
eternal punishment. As to the time and manner of the rina _ 
deliverance of those believers whose evil actions shall ¢fausin: 
outweigh their good, there is a tradition of Muhammad pet 
that they shall be released after they shall have been 
scorched and their skins burnt black, and shall afterwards 
be admitted into paradise; and when the inhabitants of 


I Quran, ¢, 74; V. 30. o [ide CRA) Vath 2s Gy Ade WNT, 


Cleansing 
the infer- 
nals. 


150 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


that place shall, in contempt, call them infernals, Gop 
will, on their prayers, take from them that opprobrious 
appellation. Others say he taught that while they con- 
tinue in hell they shall be deprived of life, or (as his words 
are otherwise interpreted) be cast into a most profound 
sleep, that they may be the less sensible of their torments ; 
and that they shall afterwards be received into paradise, 
and there revive on their being washed with the water of 
life; though some suppose they will be restored to life 
before they come forth from their place of punishment, 
that at their bidding farewell to their pains they may 
have some little taste of them. The time which these 
believers shall be detained there, according to a tradition 
handed down from their prophet, will not be less than 900 
years, nor more than 7000. And as to the manner of their 
delivery, they say that they shall be distinguished by the 
marks of prostration on those parts of their bodies with 
which they used to touch the ground in prayer, and over 
which the fire will, therefore, have no power; and that 
being known by this characteristic, they will be relieved 
by the mercy of Gop, at the intercession of Muhammad 
and the blessed; whereupon those who shall have been 
dead will be restored to life, as has been said, and those 
whose bodies shall have contracted any sootiness or filth 
from the flames and smoke of hell will be immersed in 


. one of the rivers of paradise, called the river of life, which 


Muhammad 
indebted to 
Jews and 
Magians for 
his notions 
of hell and 
the state of 
the lost. 


will wash them whiter than pearls.! 

For most of these circumstances relating to hell and 
the state of the damned, Muhammad was likewise, in all 
probability, indebted to the Jews, and in part to the 
Magians, both of whom agree in making seven distinct 
apartments in hell,? though they vary in other particulars. 
The former place an angel as a guard over each of these 
infernal apartments, and suppose he will intercede for the 


' Poc., not. in Port. Mosis, pp. in Arubin, f. 19; Zohar. ad Exod. 
289-201. xxvi. 2, &c. ; and Hyde, De: Rel. 
2 Nishmat hayim, f. 32; Gemar. Vet. Pers. p. 245. 


SEC. Iv. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. I51 


miserable wretches there imprisoned, who will openly 
acknowledge the justice of Gop in their condemnation.’ 
They also teach that the wicked will suffer a diversity of 
punishments, and that by intolerable cold? as well as heat, 
and that their faces shall become black;* and believe 
those of their own religion shall also be punished in hell 
hereafter, according to their crimes (for they hold that 
few or none will be found so exactly righteous as to deserve 
no punishment at all), but will soon be delivered thence, 
when they shall be sufficiently purged from their sins by 
their father Abraham, or at the intercession of him or 
some other of the prophets.‘ The Magians allow but one 
angel to preside over all the seven hells, who is named 
by them Vanand Yazad, and, as they teach, assigns punish- 
ments proportionate to each person’s crimes, restraining 
also the tyranny and excessive cruelty of the devil, who 
would, if left to himself, torment the damned beyond their 
sentence.° Those of this religion do also mention and 
describe various kinds of torments, wherewith the wicked 
will be punished in the next hfe, among which, though 
they reckon extreme cold to be one, yet they do not admit 
fire, out of respect, as it seems, to that element, which 
they take to be the representation of the divine nature ; 
and, therefore, they rather choose to describe the damned 
souls as suffering by other kinds of punishments, such as 
an intolerable stink, the stinging and biting of serpents 
and wild beasts, the cutting and tearing of the flesh by 
the devils, excessive hunger and thirst, and the hke.® 
Before we proceed to a description of the Muhammadan 
paradise, we must not forget to say something of the wall 
or partition which they imagine to be between that place 
and hell, and seems to be copied from the great gulf of 


1 Midrash, Yalkut Shemuni, part Arubin, f. 19. Vide Quran, ec. 2, v. 
rest 10. 79, and c. 3, v. 24, and notes there. 

2 Zohar, ad Exod. xix. 5 Hyde, De Rel. Vet. Pers., p. 

3 Yalkut Shemuni, ubi sup., f. 86. 182. 

4 Nishmat hayim, f. 82; Gemar. 6 Vide eundem, ibid., p. 399, &c. 


The parti- 
tion al 
Ardy. 


152 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


separation mentioned in Scripture! They call it al Urf, 
and more frequently in the plural al Ardf, a word derived 
from the verb arafa, which signifies to distinguish between 
things, or to part them; though some commentators give 
another reason for the imposition of this name, because, 
they say, those who stand on this partition will know and 
distinguish the blessed from the damned by their respec- 
tive marks or characteristics ;? and others say the word 
properly intends anything that is high raised or elevated, 
as such a wall of separation must be supposed to be.? The 
Muhammadan writers greatly differ as to the persons who 
are to be found on al Araf. Some imagine it to be a sort 
of limbo for the patriarchs and prophets, or for the martyrs 
and those who have been most eminent for sanctity, among 
whom, they say, there will be also angels in the form of 
men. Others place here such whose good and evil works 
are so equal that they exactly counterpoise each other, 
and therefore deserve neither reward nor punishment; and 
these, they say, will, on the last day, be admitted into 
paradise, after they shall have performed an act of adora- 
tion, which will be imputed to them as a merit, and will 
make the scale of their good works to overbalance. Others 
suppose this intermediate space will be a receptacle for 
those who have gone to war without their parents’ leave, 
and therein suffered martyrdom, being excluded paradise 
for their disobedience, and escaping hell because they are 
martyrs. The breadth of this partition wall cannot be 
supposed to be exceeding great, since not only those who 


shall stand thereon will hold conference with the inhabi- . 


tants both of paradise and of hell, but the blessed and 
the damned themselves will also be able to talk to one 
another.* 

If Muhammad did not take his notions of the partition 
we have been describing from Scripture, he must at least 


1 Luke xvi. 26. 3 Al Baidhawi. 
2 Jaléluddin, Vide Quran, c. 7, 4 Quran, ubi sup. Vide D’Herbel, 
VV. 47-50. Bibl. Orient., p. 121, &c. 


- 


rl 


SEC. Iv.]| THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 153 


have borrowed it at second-hand from the Jews, who 
mention a thin wall dividing paradise from hell. 

The righteous, as the Muhammadans are taught to 
believe, having surmounted the difficulties and passed 


~ the sharp bridge above mentioned, before they enter para- 


dise will be refreshed by drinking at the pond of their 
prophet, who describes it to be an exact square, of a 
month’s journey in compass: its water, which is supplied 
by two pipes from al Kauthar, one of the rivers of paradise, 
being whiter than milk or silver and more odoriferous than 
musk, with as many cups set around it as there are stars 
in the firmament, of which water whoever drinks will 
thirst no more for ever.? This is the first taste which the 
blessed will have of their future and now near-approaching 
felicity. 

Though paradise be so very frequently mentioned in 
the Quran, yet it is a dispute among the Muhammadans 
whether it be already created, or be to be created here- 
after: the Mutazilites and some other sectaries asserting 
that there is not at present any such place in nature, and 
that the paradise which the righteous will inhabit in the 
next life will be different from that from which Adam 
was expelled. However, the orthodox profess the contrary, 
maintaining that it was created even before the world, and 
describe it, from their prophet’s traditions, in the following 
manner, 

They say it is situate above the seven heavens (or in 
the seventh heaven) and next under the throne of Gop; 
and to express the amenity of the place, tell us that the 
earth of it is of the finest wheat flour, or of the purest 
musk, or, as others will have it, of saffron; that its stones 
are pearls and jacinths, the walls of its buildings enriched 


with gold and silver, and that the trunks of all its trees: 


are of gold, among which the most remarkable is the tree 
called Tuba, or the tree of happiness. Concerning this 





' 1 Midrash, Yalkut Sioni., f. 11. 2 Al Ghazdli, 


The 


refreshing 


water of 
al Kauthar. 


Paradise 
described. 


The rivers 
of paradise, 


Glories of 
the Hur al 
oyun. 


154. THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


tree they fable that it stands in the palace of Muhammad, 
though a branch of it will reach to the house of every 
true believer ;? that it will be laden with pomegranates, 
grapes, dates, and other fruits of surprising bigness, and 
of tastes unknown to mortals. So that if a man desire to 
eat of any particular kind of fruit, it will immediately be 
presented to him, or if he choose flesh, birds ready dressed 
will be set before him according to his wish. They add 
that the boughs of this tree will spontaneously bend down 
to the hand of the person who would gather of its fruits, 
and that it will supply the blessed not only with food, 
but also with silken garments, and beasts to ride on ready 
saddled and bridled, and adorned with rich trappings, 
which will burst forth from its fruits; and that this tree 
is so large, that a person mounted on the fleetest horse 
would not be able to gallop from one end of its shade to 
the other in a hundred years.” 

As plenty of water is one of the greatest additions to 
the pleasantness of any place, the Quran often speaks of 
the rivers of paradise as a principal ornament thereof. 
Some of these rivers, they say, flow with water, some with 
milk, some with wine, and others with honey, all taking 
their rise from the root of the tree Tuba: two of which 
rivers, named al Kauthar and the river of life, we have 
already mentioned. And lest these should not be suffi- 
cient, we are told this garden is also watered by a great 
number of lesser springs and fountains, whose pebbles are 
rubies and emeralds, their earth of camphire, their beds 
of musk, and their sides of saffron, the most remarkable 
among them being Salsabil and Tasnim. 

But all these glories will be eclipsed by the resplendent 
and ravishing girls of paradise, called, from their large 
black eyes, Hur al oyun, the enjoyment of whose com- 
pany will be a principal felicity of the faithful. These, 
they say, are created not of clay, as mortal women are, 


1 Yahya, in Qurdn, c. 13. 2 Jaldluddin, ibid. 


SEC, Iv. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 155 


but of pure musk, being, as their prophet often affirms in 
his Quran, free from all natural impurities, defects, and 
inconveniences incident to the sex, of the strictest modesty, 
and secluded from public view in pavilions of hollow 
pearls, so large, that, as some traditions have it, one of 
them will be no less than four parasangs (or, as others 
say, sixty miles) long, and as many broad. 

The name which the Muhammadans usually give to 
this happy mansion is al Jannat, or the garden; and 
sometimes they call it, with an addition, Jannat-ul- 
Firdaus, the garden of paradise, Jannat-ul-Adan, the garden 
of Eden (though they generally interpret the word Eden, 
not according to its acceptation in Hebrew, but according 
to its meaning in their own tongue, wherein it signifies 
a settled or perpetual habitation), Jannat-ul-Mawa, the 
garden of abode, Jannat-ul-Naim, the garden of pleasure, 
and the ike; by which several appellations some under- 
stand so many different gardens, or at least places of 
different degrees of felicity (for they reckon no less than 
a hundred such in all), the very meanest whereof will 
afford its inhabitants so many pleasures and delights, that 
one would conclude they must even sink under them, had 
not Muhammad declared, that in order to qualify the 
blessed for a full enjoyment of them, Gop will give to 
every one the abilities of a hundred men. 


Names of 
the abode of 
bliss. 


We have already described Muhammad’s pond, whereof The two 


fountains at 


the righteous are to drink before their admission into this the gate of 


delicious seat; besides which some authors! mention two 
fountains springing from under a certain tree near the 
gate of paradise, and say that the blessed will also drink 
of one of them, to purge their bodies and carry off all 
excrementitious dregs, and will wash themselves in the 
other. When they are arrived at the gate itself, each per- 
son will there be met and saluted by the beautiful youths 
appointed to serve and wait upon him, one of them 





1 Al Ghazdli, Kanz al Afrdr. 


paradise, 
c 


elestial at- 


tendance, 
&e. 


156 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


running before, to carry the news of his arrival to the 
wives destined for him; and also by two angels, bearing 
the presents sent him by GoD, one of whom will invest 
him with a garment of paradise, and the other will put a 
ring on each of his fingers, with inscriptions on them 
alluding to the happiness of his condition. By which of 
the eight gates (for so many they suppose paradise to 
have) they are respectively to enter, is not worth inquiry ; 
but it must be observed that Muhammad has declared 
that no person’s good works will gain him admittance, 
and that even himself shall be saved, not by his merits, 
Themerey but merely by the mercy of Gop. It is, however, the 


of God, the 


ground ; constant doctrine of the Quran that the felicity of each 
works, the 


measure of Person will be proportioned to his deserts, and that there 
pt the raht- will be abodes of different degrees of happiness ; the most 
aa eminent degree being reserved for the prophets, the second 
for the doctors and teachers of Gop’s worship, the next 
for the martyrs, and the lower for the rest of the righteous, 
according to their several merits. There will also some 
distinction be made in respect to the time of their admis- 
sion, Muhammad (to whom, if you will believe him, the 
gates will first be opened) having affirmed that the poor 
will enter paradise five hundred years before the rich: 
nor is this the only privilege which they will enjoy in the 
next life, since the same prophet has also declared, that 
when he took a view of paradise, he saw the majority of 
its inhabitants to be the poor, and when he looked down 
into hell, he saw the greater part of the wretches confined 
_ there to be women. 
The great For the first entertainment of the blessed on their 
feast of God. 5 dmission, they fable that the whole earth will then be 
as one loaf of bread, which Gop will reach to them with 
his hand, holding it like a cake; and that for meat they 
will have the ox Balam and the fish Nun, the lobes of 
whose livers will suffice 70,000 men, being, as some ima- 
gine, to be set before the principal guests, viz., those who, 
to that number, will be admitted into paradise without 


SEC IV. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 157 


examination ;! though others suppose that a definite num- 
ber is here put for an indefinite, and that nothing more is 
meant thereby than to express a great multitude of people. 

From this feast every one will be dismissed to the 
mansion designed for him, where (as has been said) he 
will enjoy such a share of felicity as will be proportioned 
to his merits, but vastly exceed comprehension or expecta- 
tion, since the very meanest in paradise (as he who, it is 
pretended, must know best has declared) will have eighty 
thousand servants, seventy-two wives of the girls of para- 
dise, besides the wives he had in this world, and a tent 
erected for him of pearls, jacinths, and emeralds, of a very 
large extent; and, according to another tradition, will be 
waited on by three hundred attendants while he eats, will 
be served in dishes of gold, whereof three hundred shall 
be set before him at once, containing each a different kind 
of food, the last morsel of which will be as grateful as the 
first; and will also be supplied with as many sorts of 
liquors in vessels of the same metal; and, to complete 
the entertainment, there will be no want of wine, which, 
though forbidden in this life, will yet be freely allowed to 
be drunk in the next, and without danger, since the wine 
of paradise will not inebriate, as that we drink here. The 
flavour of this wine we may conceive to be delicious with- 
out a description, since the water of Tasnim and the other 
fountains which will be used to dilute it is said to be 
wonderfully sweet and fragrant. If any object to these 
pleasures, as an impudent Jew did to Muhammad, that 
so much eating and drinking must necessarily require 
proper evacuations, we answer, as the prophet did, that 
the inhabitants of paradise will not need to ease them- 
selves, nor even to blow their nose, for that all superfluities 
will be discharged and carried off by perspiration, or a 
sweat as odoriferous as musk, after which their appetite 
shall return afresh. 


1 See supra, p. 142. 


Rewards of 
the faithful 
described. 


Ability of 
the faithful 
to enjoy. 


158 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. (SE viva 


The magnificence of the garments and furniture pro- 
mised by the Quran to the godly in the next life is 
answerable to the delicacy of their diet; for they are to 
be clothed in the richest silks and brocades, chiefly of 
ereen, which will burst forth from the fruits of paradise, 
and will be also supplied by the leaves of the tree Tuba; 
they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and silver, 
and crowns set with pearls of incomparable lustre; and 
will make use of silken carpets, litters of a prodigious 
size, couches, pillows, and other rich furniture embroidered 
with gold and precious stones. 

That we may the more readily believe what has been 
mentioned of the extraordinary abilities of the inhabitants 
of paradise to taste these pleasures in their heicht, it is 
said they will enjoy a perpetual youth; that in whatever 
age they happen to die, they will be raised in their prime 
and vigour, that is, of about thirty years of age, which age 
they will never exceed (and the same they say of the 
damned); and that when they enter paradise they will be 
of the same stature with Adam, who, as they fable, was no 
less than sixty cubits high. And to this age and stature 
their children, if they shall desire any (for otherwise their 
wives will not conceive), shall immediately attain, accord- 
ing to that saying of their prophet, “If any of the faithful 
in paradise be desirous of issue, it shall be conceived, born, 
and grown up within the space of an hour.” And in the 
same manner, if any one shall have a fancy to employ 
himself in agriculture (which rustic pleasure may suit the — 
wanton fancy of some), what he shall sow will spring up 
and come to maturity in a moment. 

Lest any of the senses should want their proper delight, 
we are told the ear will there be entertained, not only 
with the ravishing songs of the angel Isrdfil, who has the 
most melodious voice of all Gon’s creatures, and of the 
daughters of paradise; but even the trees themselves will 
celebrate the divine praises with a harmony exceeding 
what ever mortals have heard; to which will be joined the 


SEC. Iv. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 159 


sound of the bells hanging on the trees, which will be put 
in motion by the wind proceeding from the throne of Gop, 
so often as the blessed wish for music; nay, the very 
clashing of the golden-bodied trees, whose fruits are pearls 
and emeralds, will surpass human imagination; so that 
the pleasures of this sense will not be the least of the 
enjoyments of paradise. 

The delights we have hitherto taken a view of, it is said, The spiri- 
will be common to all the inhabitants of paradise, even a 
those of the lowest order. What then, think we, must cic 
they enjoy who shall obtain a superior degree of honour 
and felicity? To these, they say, there are prepared, 
besides all this, “such things as eye hath not seen, nor 
hath ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man 
to conceive ;” an expression most certainly borrowed from 
Scripture. That we may know wherein the felicity of 
those who shall attain the highest degree will consist, 
Muhammad is reported to have said that the meanest of 
the inhabitants of paradise will see his gardens, wives, 
servants, furniture, and other possessions take up the 
space of a thousand years’ journey (for so far and farther 
will the blessed see in the next hfe), but that he will be 
in the highest honour with Gop who shall behold his face 
morning and evening; and this favour al Ghazali supposes 
to be that additional or superabundant recompense pro- 
mised in the Quran,? which will give such exquisite delight, 
that in respect thereof all the other pleasures of paradise 
- will be forgotten and lightly esteemed; and not without 
reason, since, as the same author says, every other enjoy- 
ment is equally tasted by the very brute beast who is 
turned loose into luxuriant pasture? The reader will 
observe, by the way, that this is a full confutation of those 
who pretend that the Muhammadans admit of no spiritual 


1 Tsa. Ixiv. 43 1 Cor. ii. 9. 3 Vide Poc., in not. ad Port. Mosis, 
2" Cap. 10, v. 9, &e. Pp. 305. 


Muhammad 
indebted to 
Jews and 

Magians for 
his notions 
of paradise. 


160 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


pleasure in the next life, but make the happiness of the 
blessed to consist wholly in corporeal enjoyments.! * 

Whence Muhammad took the greatest part of his para- 
dise it is easy to show. The Jews constantly describe the 
future mansion of the just as a delicious garden, and make 
it also reach to the seventh heaven. They also say it has 
three gates,® or, as others will have it, two’ and four 
rivers (which last circumstance they copied, to be sure, 
from those of the Garden of Eden),° flowing with milk, 
wine, balsam, and honey.® Their Behemoth and Leviathan, 
which they pretend will be slain for the entertainment of 
the blessed,’ are so apparently the Balam and Nun of 
Muhammad, that his followers themselves confess he is 
obliged to them for both. The Rabbins likewise mention 
seven different degrees of felicity,? and say that the highest 
will be of those who perpetually contemplate the face of 
Gop.’ The Persian Magi had also an idea of the future 
happy estate of the good, very little different from that of 
Muhammad. Paradise they called Bahisht, and Minu, 
which signifies crystal, where they believe the righteous 
shall enjoy all manner of delights, and particularly the 
company of the Huran-i-bahisht, or black-eyed nymphs of 
paradise," the care of whom, they say, is committed to the 
angel Zamiyad;¥ and hence Muhammad seems to have 
taken the first hint of his paradisiacal ladies. 

It is not improbable, however, but that he might have 
been obliged, in some respect, to the Christian accounts of 


* We find no authority for such spiritual blessing in the Quran. 
But see post, p. 162. E. M. W. 


1 Vide Reland, De Rel. Moh., 1. 2, 6 Midrash, Yalkut Shemuni. 
$17. 7 Gemar. Bava Bathra, f. 78; 
2 Vide Gemar. Tdnith, f. 25, Bera- Rashi, in Job i. 
coth, f. 34, and Midrash sabboth, f. 8 ‘Vide Poc., not. in Port. Mosis, 


a7 p. 298. ® Nishmat hayim, f. 32. 
3 Megillah, Amkoth, p. 78. 1 Midrash, Tehillim, f. 11. 
4 Midrash, Yalkut Shemuni. 11 Sadder, porta 5. 


5 Gen. ii. 10, &e. 12 Hyde, De Rel. Vet. Pers., p.225, 


SEC. IV. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 161 


the felicity of the good in the next life.* As it is scarce 
possible to convey, especially to the apprehensions of the 
generality of mankind, an idea of spiritual pleasures with- 
out introducing sensible objects, the Scriptures have been 
obliged to represent the celestial enjoyments by corporeal 
images, and to describe the mansion of the blessed as a 
glorious and magnificent city, built of gold and precious 
stones, with twelve gates, through the streets of which 
there runs a river of water of life, and having on either 
side the tree of life, which bears twelve sorts of fruits and 
leaves of a healing virtue! Our Saviour likewise speaks 
of the future state of the blessed as of 'a kingdom where 
they shall eat and drink at his table. But then these 
descriptions have none of those puerile imaginations 3 
which reign throughout that of Muhammad, much less 
any the most distant intimation of sensual delights, which 
he was so fond of; on the contrary, we are expressly 
assured that ‘‘in the resurrection they will neither marry 
nor be given in marriage, but will be as the angels of Gop 


* As all the doctrines of Muhammad concerning the future state 
were proclaimed in Makkan suras before the tenth year of his mis- 
sion, and as almost no reference had yet been made to Christianity, 
it seems quite certain that he was ignorant of the Christian Scrip- 
tures; and inasmuch as he everywhere evinces in the Quran his 
almost entire ignorance of Christian doctrine, we may safely con- 
clude that he owed little or nothing to Christianity for his ideas of 


heaven and hell, 


EK. M. W. 








1 Rev. xxi. 10, &c., and xxii. 1, 2. 

2 Luke xxii. 29, 30, &e. 

37 would not, however, under- 
take to defend all the Christian 
writers in this particular ; witness 
that one passage of Irenzeus, wherein 
he introduces a tradition of St. John 
that our Lord should say, “The 
days shall come, in which there shall 
be vines, which shall have each ten 
thousand branches, and every one of 
those branches shall have ten thou- 
sand lesser branches, and every one 
of these branches shall have ten 


thousand twigs, and every one of 
these twigs shall have ten thousand 
clusters of grapes, and in every one 
of these clusters there shall be ten 
thousand grapes, and every one of 
these grapes being pressed shall 
yield two hundred and seventy-five 
gallons of wine; and when a man 
shall take hold of one of these sacred 
bunches, another bunch shall cry 
out, I am a better bunch: take me, 
and bless the Lord by me,” &e. 
Tren2 5; /¢: 33. 


L 


Christian 
and Muslim 
notions of 
the future 
state com- 
pared. 


The descrip- 
tion of para- 
dise in the 
Quran to be 
understood 
in a literal 
sense. 


162 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


in heaven.”! Muhammad, however, to enhance the value of 
paradise with his Arabians, chose rather to imitate the in- 
decency of the Magians than the modesty of the Christians 
in this particular, and lest his beatified Muslims should 
complain that anything was wanting, bestows on them 
wives, aS well as the other comforts of life; judging, it 
is to be presumed, from his own inclinations, that, hke | 
Panurgus’s ass,? they would think all other enjoyments 
not worth their acceptance if they were to be debarred 
from this. 

Had Muhammad, after all, intimated to his followers, 
that what he had told them of paradise was to be taken, 
not literally, but in a metaphorical sense (as it is said the 
Magians do the description of Zoroaster’s *), this might, 
perhaps, make some atonement; but the contrary is so 
evident from the whole tenor of the Quran, that although 
some Muhammadans, whose understandings are too refined 
to admit such gross conceptions, look on their prophet’s 
descriptions as parabolical, and are willing to receive them 
in an allegorical or spiritual acceptation,* yet the general 
and orthodox doctrine is, that the whole is to be strictly 
believed in the obvious and literal acceptation; to prove 
which I need only urge the oath they exact from Chris- 
tians (who they know abhor such fancies) when they 
would bind them in the most strong and sacred manner ; 
for in such a case they make them swear that if they 
falsify their engagement, they will affirm that there will 
be black-eyed girls in the next world and corporeal plea- 
sures.° 

Before we quit this subject it may not be improper 


1 Matt. xxii, 30, 

2 Vide Rabelais, Pantagr., 1. 5, c. 
7, A better authority than this 
might, however, be alleged in favour 
of Muhammad’s judgment in this 
respect ; I mean that of Plato, who 
is said to have proposed, in his ideal 
commonwealth, as the reward of 
valiant men and consummate sol- 


diers, the kisses of boys and beau- 


teous damsels. Vide Gell. Noct. 
ATT S Sse! 

3 Vide Hyde, De Rel. Vet. Pers., 
p. 266. 


4Vide eund., in not. ad Bobov. 
Lit, Turcar:, p: 21. 
Poc. ad Port. Mosis, p. 305. 


SEC. IV.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  _—_163 


to observe the falsehood of a vulgar imputation on the 
Muhammadans, who are by several writers! reported to 
hold that women have no souls, or, if they have, that 
they will perish, like those of brute beasts, and will not 
be rewarded in the next life. But whatever may be the 
opinion of some ignorant people among them, it is certain 
that Muhammad had too great a respect for the fair sex 
to teach such a doctrine; and there are several passages 
in the Quran which affirm that women, in the next life, 
will not only be punished for their evil actions, but will 
also receive the rewards of their good deeds, as well as The rewards 
the men, and that in this case Gop will make no distinc- women. 
tion of sexes.2, Itis true the general notion is that they 
will not be admitted into the same abode as the men are, 
because their places will be supplied by the paradisiacal 
females (though some allow that a man will there also have 
the company of those who were his wives in this world, or 
at least such of them as he shall desire?®), but that good 
women will go into a separate place of happiness, where 
they will enjoy all sorts of delights ;* but whether one of 
those delights will be the enjoyment of agreeable paramours 
created for them, to complete the economy of the Muham- 
madan system, is what I have nowhere found decided. 
One circumstance relating to these beatified females, con- 
formable to what he had asserted of the men, he acquainted 
his followers with in the answer he returned to an old 
woman, who, desiring him to intercede with Gop that she 
might be admitted into paradise, he told her that no old 
woman would enter that place; which setting the poor 
woman a crying, he explained himself by saying that Gop 
would then make her young again.> 








* Hornbek, Sum. Contr., p. 16. in not. ad Bobov. de. Visit. egr., p. 


Grelot, Voyage de Constant., p.275. 21. 3 See supra, p. 157. 

Ricaut’s Present State of the Otto- 4 Vide Chardin, Voy., tom. 2, p. 

man Empire, l. 2, c. 21. 328; and Bayle, Dict. Hist. Art. 
2 See Quran, c. 3, v. 196; c. 4, v. Mahomet, Rem. Q. 

126, &c. ; and also c. 13, v.23; c. 16, > See Quran, c. 56, v. 36,.and the 


40, 48, 57, &c. Vide etiam Reland, notes there; and Gagnier, not. in 
De Rel. Moh., 1. 2, § 18; and Hyde, Abulfeda, Vit. Moh., p. 145. 


The decrees 
of God. 


Use made 
of this doc- 
trine by 
Muham- 
mad. 


164 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. Iv. 


The sixth great point of faith which the Muhammadans 
are taught by the Quran to believe is Gop’s absolute 
decree and predestination both of good and evil; for the 
orthodox doctrine is, that whatever hath or shall come 
to pass in this world, whether it be good or whether it be 
bad, proceedeth entirely from the divine will, and is irre- 
vocably fixed and recorded from all eternity in the pre- 
served table,! Gop having secretly predetermined not only 
the adverse and prosperous fortune of every person in this 
world, in the most minute particulars, but also his faith or 
infidelity, his obedience or disobedience, and consequently 
his everlasting happiness or misery after death, which 
fate or predestination it is not possible by any foresight 
or wisdom to avoid. 

Of this doctrine Muhammad makes great use in his 
Quran for the advancement of his designs, encouraging 
his followers to fight without fear, and even desperately, 
for the propagation of their faith, by representing to them 
that ail their caution could not avert their inevitable 
destiny or prolong their lives for a moment,? and deter- 
ring them from disobeying or rejecting him as an impostor 
by setting before them the danger they might thereby 
incur of being, by the just judgment of Gop, abandoned 
to seduction, hardness of heart, and a reprobate mind, as a 
punishment for their obstinacy.® 

As this doctrine of absolute election and reprobation 
has been thought by many of the Muhammadan divines 
to be derogatory to the goodness and justice of Gop, and 
to make Gop the author of evil, several subtle distinctions 
have been invented and disputes raised to explicate or 
soften it, and different sects have been formed, according 
to their several opinions or methods of explaining this 
point, some of them going so far as even to hold the 





1 See supra, p. 108. 2) (Hird Ge Oy VLA Gad v. 77, &C, 
3 Ibid., c. 4, vv. 134-1443 ¢. 2, vv. 6-20, &c., passim. 


SEC. IV.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. " \¥O5 


direct contrary position of absolute free will in man, as we 
shall see hereafter. 

Of the four fundamental points of religious practice Prayer or 
required by the Qurdn, the first is prayer, under which,“ 
as has been said, are also comprehended those legal wash- 
ings or purifications which are necessary preparations 
thereto. 

Of these purifications there are two degrees, one called ceremonial 
Ghusl, being a total immersion or bathing of the body pena. 
in water, and the other called Wadhw (by the Persians ioe 
Abdast), which is the washing of their faces, hands, and 
feet after a certain manner, ‘The first is required in some 
extraordinary cases only, as after having lain with a 
woman, or being polluted by emission of seed, or by 
approaching a dead body; women also being obliged to 
it after their courses or childbirth. The latter is the 
ordinary ablution in common cases and before prayer, and 
must necessarily be used by every person before he can 
enter upon that duty.? It is performed with certain 
formal ceremonies, which have been described by some 
writers, but are much easier apprehended by seeing them 
done than by the best description. 

_ These purifications were perhaps borrowed by Mu- These were 
hammad from the Jews; at least they agree in a great frreean 
measure with those used by that nation,’ who in process va 

of time burdened the precepts of Moses in this point 

with so many traditionary ceremonies, that whole books 

have been written about them, and who were so exact 

and superstitious therein, even in our Saviour’s time, that 

they are often reproved by him for it. But as it is certain 

that the pagan Arabs used lustrations of this kind® lone 

before the time of Muhammad, as most nations did, and 

still do in the East, where the warmth of the climate 





1 Sect. VIII. 3 Poc., not. in Port. Mosis, p. 356, 
* Qurdn, ¢..4, V. 42; and c¢.5,v.7. d&c. 

Vide Reland, De Rel. Moh., 1. 1, # Mark vii. 3, &c. 

Calo. 5 Vide Herodot., 1. 3, c. 198. 


The prac- 
tice of re- 


166 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SsEC. IV. 


requires a greater nicety and degree of cleanliness than 
these colder parts, perhaps Muhammad only recalled his 
countrymen to a more strict observance of those purifying 
rites, which had been probably neglected by them, or at 
least performed in a careless and perfunctory manner. 
The Muhammadans, however, will have it that they are 
as ancient as Abraham,! who, they say, was enjoined by 
Gop to observe them, and was shown the manner of making 
the ablution by the Angel Gabriel in the form of a beautiful 
youth.2, Nay, some deduce the matter higher, and imagine 
that these ceremonies were taught our first parents by the 
angels.? 

That his followers might be the more punctual in this 


ligion based duty, Muhammad is said to have declared, that “the 


on cleanli- 
ness, 


practice of religion is founded on cleanliness,” which is 
the one-half of the faith and the key of prayer, without 
which it will not be heard by Gop. That these expres- 
sions may be the better understood, al Ghazal reckons 
four degrees of purification, of which the first is, the 
cleansing of the body from all pollution, filth, and excre- 
ments; the second, the cleansing of the members of the 
body from all wickedness and unjust actions; the third, 
the cleansing of the heart from all blamable inclinations 
and odious vices; and the fourth, the purging a man’s 
secret thoughts from all affections which may divert their 
attendance on Gop: adding, that the body is but as the 
outward shell in respect to the heart, which is as the 
kernel. And for this reason he highly complains of those 
who are superstitiously solicitous in exterior purifications, 
avoiding those persons as unclean who are not so scrupu- 





1 AlJanndbiin Vita Abrah. Vide porque Dios quiere hablar contigo. 


Poe. Spec., p. 303. 

2 Herewith agrees the spurious 
Gospel of St. Barnabas, the Spanish 
translation of which (cap. 29) has 
these words: Dixo Abraham, Que 
hare yo para servir al Dios de los 
sanctos y prophetas? Respondio el 
angel, Ve e aquellu fuente y lavate, 


Dixo Abraham, Como tengo de la- 
varme? Luego et angelise le appare- 
cid como uno bello-mancebo, y se lavod 
en la fuente, y le dixo, Abraham, haz 
como yo. Y Abraham se lavd, &ce. 

3 Al Kessdi. Vide Reland, De 
Rel. Moham., p. 81. 

4 Al Ghazdli, Ibn al Athir. 


SEC: 1V.} THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE, 167 


lously nice as themselves, and at the same time have 
their minds lying waste, and overrun with pride, ignorance, 
and hypocrisy... Whence it plainly appears with how 
little foundation the Muhammadans have been charged 
by some writers? with teaching or imagining that these 
formal washings alone cleanse them from their sins.’ 

Lest so necessary a preparation to their devotions should Lustration 
be omitted, either where water cannot be had, or when it es 
may be of prejudice to a person’s health, they are allowed eed 
in such cases to make use of fine sand or dust in lieu of 
it;* and then they perform this duty by clapping their 
open hands on the sand, and passing them over the parts, 
in the same manner as if they were dipped in water. But 
for this expedient Muhammad was not so much indebted 
to his own cunning® as to the example of the Jews, or 
perhaps that of the Persian Magi, almost as scrupulous 
as the Jews themselves in their lustrations, who both of 
them prescribe the same method in cases of necessity ;® 
and there is a famous instance in ecclesiastical history 
of sand being used, for the same reason, instead of water, 
in the administration of the Christian sacrament of baptism, 
many years before Muhammad’s time.’ 

Neither are the Muhammadans contented with bare Minor 
washing, but think themselves obliged to several other Sie 
necessary points of cleanliness, which they make also as 
parts of this duty; such as combing the hair, cutting the 
beard, paring the nails, pulling out the hairs of their arm- 
pits, shaving their private parts, and circumcision ;§ of 


1 Vide Poe. Spec., p. 302, &c. de Morib. et Instit. Turcar., Ep. 1, 
2 Barthol. Edessen. Confut. Ha- p. 32. 
garen., p. 360. G. Sionita and J. 3 Vide Reland, De Rel. Moh., 1. 
Hesronita, in Tract. de Urb. and 2, c¢, II. 
Morib. Orient. ad Calcem Geogr. * Quran, 6.04, .Va42, andes 5y.V. 7. 
Nubiens., c. 15. Du Ryer, dans le 5 Vide Smith, ubi sup. 
Sommaire de la Rel. des Turcs, mis 6 Gemar. Berachoth, c. 2. Vide 
a la téte de sa version de lAlcor. Poc. not. ad Port. Mosis, p. 380. 
St. Olon, Descr. du Royaume de Sadder, porta 84. 
Maroc, c. 2. Hyde, in not. ad ? Cedren., p. 250. 
Bobov. de Prec. Moh., p. 1. Smith, 8 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 303. 


168 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. (SEC. Iv" 


which last I will add a word or two, lest I should not find 
a more proper place. 

awe Circumcision, though it be not so much as once men- 

circumei- tioned in the Quran, is yet held by the Muhammadans to 

oa be an ancient divine institution, confirmed by the religion 
of Islam, and though not so absolutely necessary but that 
it may be dispensed with in some cases,! yet highly proper 
and expedient. The Arabs used this rite for many ages 
before Muhammad, having probably learned it from Ismail, 
though not only his descendants, but the Himyarites,? and 
other tribes, practised the same. The Ismailites, we are 
told,? used to cireumeise their children, not on the eighth 
day, as is the custom of the Jews, but when about twelve 
or thirteen years old, at which age their father underwent 
that operation; * and the Muhammadans imitate them so 
far as not to circemeise children before they be, able, at 
least, distinctly to pronounce that profession of their faith, 
“There is no god but Gop; Muhammad is the apostle of 
Gop;”5 but pitch on what age they please for the pur- 
pose, between six and sixteen or thereabouts. Though 
the Muslim doctors are generally of opinion, conformably 
to the Scripture, that this precept was originally given to 
Abraham, yet some have imagined that Adam was taught 
it by the Angel Gabriel, to satisfy an oath he had made to 
cut off that flesh which, after his fall, had rebelled against 
his spirit; whence an odd argument has been drawn for 
the universal obligation of circumcision.’ Though I cannot 
say the Jews led the Muhammadans the way here, yet 
they seem so unwilling to believe any of the principal 





1'Vide Boboy. de Circumcis., p. following passage of the Gospel of 


22. Barnabas (cap. 23), viz., Hntonces 
? Philostorg., Hist. Eccl., 1. 3. dixo Jesus ; Adam el primer hombre 
= Joseph., Ant., 1. 1, e 23. aviendo comido por efgano del de- 
4 Gen. xvii. 25. monio la comida prohibida por Dios 
°> Vide Bobov., ubi sup., and Poc. en el parayso, se le rebeld su carne & 

Spec., p. 319. su espiritu ; por lo qual juro diziendo, 


6 Vide Reland, De Rel. Moh., 1. Por Dios que yo te quiero cortar ; y 
rompiendo una piedra tomd su carne 


1 pe 75: 
"7 This is the substance of the para cortarla con el corte de la piedra. 


SEC. IV. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 169 


patriarchs or prophets before Abraham were really uncir- 
cumcised, that they pretend several of them, as well as 
some holy men who lived after his time, were born ready 
circumcised, or without a foreskin, and that Adam, in 
particular, was so created;! whence the Muhammadans 
affirm the same thing of their prophet.” 

Prayer was by Muhammad thought so necessary a duty, 
that he used to call it the pillar of religion and the key 
of paradise ; and when the Thakifites, who dwelt at Tayif, 
sending in the ninth year of the Hijra to make their 
submission to the prophet, after the keeping of their 
favourite idol had been denied them,? begged, at least, 
that they might be dispensed with as to their saying of the 
appointed prayers, he answered, “That there could be no 
good in that religion wherein was no prayer.” * 

That so important a duty, therefore, might not be 
neglected, Muhammad obliged his followers to pray five 
times every twenty-four hours, at certain stated times; 
viz., 1. In the morning, before sunrise; 2. When noon is 
past, and the sun begins to decline from the meridian; 3. 


‘In the afternoon, before sunset; 4. In the evening, after 


sunset, and before day be shut in; and 5. After the day 
is shut in, and before the first watch of the night.° For 
this institution he pretended to have received the divine 
command from the throne of Gop himself, when he took 
his night journey to heaven; and the observing of the 
stated times of prayer is frequently insisted on in the 
Quran, though they be not particularly prescribed therein. 
Accordingly, at the aforesaid times, of which publ notice 
is given by the Muadhdhins, or Criers, from the steeples 








Por loqual fue reprehendido del angel 
Gabriel, y el le dixo; Yo he jurado 
por Dios que lo he de cortar, y men 
tiroso no lo seré jamas. Ala hora el 
angel le enseno la superfluidad de su 
carne, y a quella corto. De manera 
gue ansi como todo hombre toma carne 
de Adam, ansi esta obligado a cumplir 


aquello que Adam con juramento 
prometio. 

1 Shalshel. hakkabala. Vide Poe. 
Spec., p. 320; Gagnier, not. in 
Abulfed., Vit. Moh., p. 2. 

2 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 304. 

3 See supra, p. 39. 

4 Abulfed. Vit. Moh., p. 127. 

5 Vide ibid., pp. 38, 39. 


Prayer the 
key of 
paradise. 


The hours of 
prayer. 


Manner of 
performing 
the service 
of prayer. 


170 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


of their mosques (for they use no bell), every conscientious 
Muslim prepares himself for prayer, which he performs 
either in the mosque or any other place, provided it be 
clean, after a prescribed form, and with a certain number 
of phrases or ejaculations (which the more scrupulous 
count by a string of beads) and using certain postures of 
worship; all which have been particularly set down and 
described, though with some few mistakes, by other writers, 
and ought not to be abridged, unless in some special cases, 
as on a journey, on preparing for battle, &c. 

For the regular performance of the duty of prayer 
among the Muhammadans, besides the particulars above 
mentioned, it 1s also requisite that they turn their faces, 
while they pray, towards the temple of Makkah? the 
quarter where the same is situate being, for that reason, 
pointed out within their mosques by a niche, which they 
call al Mihrab, and without by the situation of the doors 
opening into the galleries of the steeples: there are also 
tables calculated for the ready finding out their Qibla, or 
part towards which they ought to pray, in places where 
they have no other direction.’ 

But what is principally to be regarded in the discharge 
of this duty, say the Mushm doctors, is the inward dis- 
position of the heart, which is the lfe and spirit of prayer; * 
the most punctual observance of the external rites and 
ceremonies before mentioned being of little or no avail, if 
performed without due attention, reverence, devotion, and 
hope ;° so that we must not think the Muhammadans, or 
the considerate part of them at least, content themselves 
with the mere opus operatwm, or imagine their whole 
religion to be placed therein.® 


1 Vide Hotting., Hist. Eccles., tom. 2 Quran, c. 2, v. 142. See the notes 
8, pp. 470-529; Bobov. in Liturg. there. 
Turcic., p. 1, &c.; Grelot, Voyage 3 Vide Hyde, De Rel. Vet. Pers., 
de Constant., pp. 253-264; Chardin, pp. 8, 9, and 126 
Voy. de. Perse, tom. 2, p. 382, &c. ; 4 Al Ghazali. 
and Smith, de Moribus ac Instit. 5 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 305. 
Turcar., Ep. 1, p. 33, &¢. 6 Vide Smith, ubi sup., p. 40. 


SeCAIY| THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 175 


I had like to have omitted two things which in my 
mind deserve mention on this head, and may, perhaps, be 
better defended than our contrary practice. One is, that 
the Muhammadans never address themselves to GoD in 
sumptuous apparel, though they are obliged to be decently 
clothed, but lay aside their costly habits and pompous 
ornaments, if they wear any, when they approach the 
divine presence, lest they should seem proud and arrogant.} 
The other is, that they admit not their women to pray 
with them in public, that sex being obliged to perform 
their devotions at home, or if they visit the mosques, it 
must be at a time when the men are not there; for the 
Muslims are of opinion that their presence inspires a 
different kind of devotion from that which is requisite in 
a place dedicated to the worship of Gop.* . 

The greater part of the particulars comprised in the 
Muhammadan institution of prayer their prophet seems 
to have copied from others, and especially the Jews, ex- 
ceeding their institutions only in the number of daily 
prayers.2 . The Jews are directed to pray three times a 
day,* in the morning, in the evening, and within night, in 
imitation of Abraham,? Isaac,° and Jacob;7 and the prac- 
tice was as early, at least, as the time of Daniel. The 
several postures used by the Muhammadans in their prayers 


1 Reland, De Rel. Moh., p. 96. 
See Quran, c. 7, v. 32. 

2A Moor, named Ahmad Ibn 
Abdalla, in a Latin epistle by him, 
written to Maurice, Prince of 
Orange, and Emanuel, Prince of 
Portugal, containing a censure of the 
Christian religion (a copy of which, 
once belonging to Mr. Selden, who 
has thence transcribed a considerable 
passage in his treatise De Synedriis 
vett. Ebreor., l. I, c. 12, is now in 
the Bodleian Library), finds great 
fault with the unedifying manner 
in which mass is said among the 
Roman Catholics, for this very 
reason among others. His words 
are: Ubicunque congregantur simul 


virt et femine, ibi mens non est 
intenta et devota: nam inter cele- 
brandum missam et sacrificia, feemine 
et virt mutuis aspectibus, signis, ac 
nutibus accendunt pravorum appeti- 
tum, et desideriorum suorum ignes : 
et quando hoc non fieret, saltem 
humana fragilitas delectatur nvutuo 
et reciproco aspectu ; et ita non potest 
esse mens quieta, attenta, et devota. 

3 The Sabians, according to some, 
exceed the Muhammadans in this 
point, praying seven times a day. 
See supra, p. 34, note. 

# Gemar. Berachoth. 

& Genjxix, 27; ©*,Gen. xxiy. 63. 

7 Gen. xxviii. 11, &c. 

8 Dan. vi. 10. ; 


Regulations 
as to apparel 
and women 
in time of 
prayer. 


The institu- 
tion of 
prayer bor- 
rowed from 
the Jews. 


bo THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


are also the same with those prescribed by the Jewish 
Rabbins, and particularly the most solemn act of adora- 
tion, by prostrating themselves so as to touch the ground 
with their forehead ;1 notwithstanding, the latter pretend 
the practice of the former, in this respect, to be a relic of 
their ancient manner of paying their devotions to Baal- 
peor? The Jews likewise constantly pray with their faces 
turned towards the temple of Jerusalem,’ which has been 
their Qibla from the time it was first dedicated by Solo- 
mon ;* for which reason Daniel, praying in Chaldea, had the 
windows of his chamber open towards that city;° and the 
same was the Qibla of Muhammad and his followers for 
six or seven months,6 and till he found himself obliged 


to change it for the Kaabah. The Jews, moreover, are 


Almsgiving 
the second 
funda- 
mental act 
of religious 
practice. 


obliged by the precepts of their religion to be careful that 
the place they pray in, and the garments they have on 
when they perform their duty, be clean:7 the men and 
women also among them pray apart (in which particular 
they were imitated by the Eastern Christians); and seve- 
ral other conformities might be remarked between the 
Jewish public worship and that of the Muhammadans.® 
The next point of the Muhammadan religion is. the 
oiving of alms, which are of two sorts, legal and voluntary. 
The legal alms are of indispensable obligation, being com- 
manded by the law, which directs and determines both 
the portion which is to be given and of what things it 
ought to be given; but the voluntary alms are left to 
every one’s liberty, to give more or less as he shall see fit. 
The former kind of alms some think to be properly called 
Zakét and the latter Sadaga, though this name be also 


1 Vide Millium, De Mohammedis- > Dan. vi. 10. 
mo ante Moham., p. 427, &c., and 6 Some say eighteen months, 
Hyde, De Rel. Vet. Pers., p. 5, &. Vide Abulfed., Vit. Moh., p. 54. 
2 Maimonid. in Epist. ad Proselyt. 7 Maimon.in Halachoth Tephilla, 
Relig. Vide Poc. Spec., p. 306. c. 9, § 8,9. Menura hammeor, fol. 
3 Gemar. Bava Bathra, and Bera- 28, 2. 
choth. 8 Vide Millium, ubi sup., p. 424, 
4 1 Kings viii. 29, &c. et seq. 


SEC, IV. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 173 


frequently given to the legal alms. They are called Zakat, 
either because they increase a man’s store, by drawing 
down a blessing thereon, and produce in his soul the 
virtue of liberality,! or because they purify the remaining 
part of one’s substance from pollution and the soul from 
the filth of avarice ;2 and Sadaqa, because they are a 
proof of a man’s sincerity in the worship of Gop. Some 
writers have called the legal alms tithes, but improperly, 
since in some cases they fall short, and in others exceed 
that proportion. 

The giving of alms is frequently commanded in the 
Quran, and often recommended therein jointly with 
prayer; the former being held of great efficacy in causing 
the latter to be heard of Gop: for which reason the 
Khalifah Omar Ibn Abd al Aziz used to say “that prayer 
carries us half-way to Gop, fasting brings us to the door 
of his palace, and alms procures us admission.”3 The 
Muhammadans, therefore, esteem almsdeeds to be highly 
meritorious, and many of them have been illustrious for 
the exercise thereof. Hasan, the son of Ali and grandson 
of Muhammad, in particular, is related to have thrice in 
his life divided his substance equally between himself and 
the poor, and twice to have given away all he had;* and 
the generality are so addicted to the doing of good, that 
they extend their charity even to brutes.° * 

Alms, according to the prescriptions of the Muham- gaws relat- 
madan law, are to be given of five things: 1. Of cattle, Oe ee 
that is to say, of camels, kine, and sheep; 2. Of money ; 





* A few years’ residence among Muslims will serve to materially 
modify this statement. E. M, W. 


Al Baidhéwi. See Qurdn, c. 2, 3 D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., p. 5. 
vv. 261-274. £ Ibid., p. 422. 

2 Idem. Compare this with what 5 Vide Busbeq., Epist. 3, p. 178. 
our Saviour says (Luke xi. 41), Smith, de Morib. Turc., Ep. 1, p. 66, 
“Give alms of such things as ye &c. Compare Eccles. xi. I and 
have; and behold, all things are Prov. xii. Io. 
clean unto you.” 


Appropria- 


tion of legal 


alms, 


Jewish and 
Muslim 
almsgiving 
compared. 


174 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


3. Of corn; 4. Of fruits, viz., dates and raisins; and 5. 
Of wares sold. Of each of these a certain portion is to be 
given in alms, being usually one part in forty, or two and 
a half per cent. of the value. But no alms are due for 
them, unless they amount to a certain quantity or num- 
ber; nor until a man has been in possession of them eleven 
months, he not being obliged to give alms thereout before 
the twelfth month is begun; nor are alms due for cattle 
employed in tilling the ground or in carrying of burdens. 
In some cases a much larger portion than the before- 
mentioned is reckoned due for alms: thus of what is gotten 
out of mines, or the sea, or by any art or profession over 
and above what is sufficient for the reasonable support of 
a man’s family, and especially where there is a mixture 
or suspicion of unjust gain, a fifth part ought to be given 
in alms. Moreover, at the end of the fast of Ramadhan, 
every Muslim is obliged to give in alms for himself and 
for every one of his family, if he has any, a measure! of 
wheat, barley, dates, raisins, rice, or other provisions com- 
monly eaten.? 

The legal alms were at first collected by Muhammad 
himself, who employed them as he thought fit, in. the 
relief of his poor relations and followers, but chiefly 
applied them to the maintenance of those who served in 
his wars, and fought, as he termed it, in the way of Gop. 
His successors continued to do the same, till, in process of 
time, other taxes and tributes being imposed for the sup- 
port of the government, they seem to have been weary of 
acting as almoners to their subjects, and to have left the 
paying them to their consciences. 

In the foregoing rules concerning alms we may observe 
also footsteps of what the Jews taught and practised in 
respect thereto. Alms, which they also call Sedaka, ie, 


1 This measure is a Sad, and con- 2 Vide Reland, De Rel. Ma- 
tains about six or seven pounds hommed.,l. 1, p. 99, &c. Chardin, 
weight. Voy. de Perse, tom. 2, p. 415, &c. 


SEC. IV. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 175 


justice or righteousness! are greatly recommended by 
their Rabbins, and preferred even to sacrifices? as a 
duty the frequent exercise whereof will effectually free a 
man from hell-fire,? and merit everlasting life ;4 wherefore, 
besides the corners of the field and the gleanings of their 
harvest and vineyard, commanded to be left for the poor 
and the stranger by the law of Moses,° a certain portion 
of their corn and fruits is directed to be set apart for 
their relief, which portion is called the tithes of the poor. 
The Jews likewise were formerly very conspicuous for 
their charity. Zaccheus gave the half of his goods to the 
poor;’ and we are told that some gave their whole sub- 
stance: so that their doctors at leneth decreed that no 
man should give above a fifth part of his goods in alms.§ 
There were also persons publicly appointed in every 
synagogue to collect and distribute the people’s contribu- 
tions. 

The third point of religious practice is fasting, a duty 
‘of so great moment, that Muhammad used to say 1t was 
“the gate of religion,” and that “the odour of the mouth 
of him who fasteth is more grateful to Gop than that of 
musk;” and al Ghazali reckons fasting one-fourth part of 
_ the faith. According to the Muhammadan divines, there 
are three degrees of fasting: 1. The restraining the belly 
and other parts of the body from satisfying their lusts; 
2. The restraining the ears, eyes, tongue, hands, feet, and 
other members from sin; and 3. The fasting of the heart 
from worldly cares, and refraining the thoughts from 
everything besides Gop.” 





1 Hence alms are in the New and Maimon. in Halachoth matanoth 
Testament termed Accatocvvyn. Matt. Aniyyim., c. 6. Conf. Pirke Avoth, 
v 


vi. I (ed. Steph.), and 2 Cor. ix. 10, v. 9. 
2 Gemar. in Bava Bathra. 7 Luke xix. 8. 
3 Thid., in Gittin. 8 Vide Reland, Ant. Sacr. Vet. 
4 Tbid., in Rosh hashana. Hebr., p. 402. 
> Levit.. xix, 9, 10; Deut. xxiv; 9 Vide ibid., p. 138. 
19, &e. 1 Al Ghazdéli, Al Mustatraf, 


6 Vide Gemar. Hierosol. in Peah, 


The duty of 
fasting. 


The fast of 
Ramadhan. 


THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. Iv. 


176 


The Muhammadans are obliged, by the express com- 
mand of the Quran, to fast the whole month of Ramadhan, 
from the time the new moon first appears till the appear- 
ance of the next new moon; during which time they must 
abstain from eating, drinking, and women, from daybreak 
till night,! or sunset. And this injunction they observe 
so strictly, that while they fast they suffer nothing to 
enter their mouths, or other parts of their body, esteeming 
the fast broken and null if they smell perfumes, take a 
clyster or injection, bathe, or even purposely swallow 
their spittle; some being so cautious that they will not 
open their mouths to speak, lest they should breathe the 
air too freely :? the fast is also deemed void if a man kiss 
or touch a woman, or if he vomit designedly. But after 
sunset they are allowed to refresh themselves, and to eat 
and drink, and enjoy the company of their wives till 
daybreak ;? though the more rigid begin the fast again at 
midnicht.* This fast is extremely rigorous and mortify- 
ing when the month of Ramadhan happens to fall in 
summer, for the Arabian year being lunar,® each month 
runs through all the different seasons in the course of 


1 Quran, c. 2, vv. 185-195. and the black thread are to be un- 


2 Hence we read that the Virgin 
Mary, to avoid answering the reflec- 
tions cast on her for bringing home 
a child, was advised by the Angel 
Gabriel to feign she had vowed a fast, 
and therefore she ought not to speak. 
See Quran, c. 10, v. 27. 

3 The words of the Qurdn (cap. 2, 
v. 187) are: ‘Until ye can distin- 
guish a white thread from a black 
thread by the daybreak ”—a form of 
speaking borrowed by Muhammad 
from the Jews, who determine the 
time when they are to begin their 
morning lesson to be so soon as a 
man can discern blue from white, 
z.e. the blue threads from the white 
threads in the fringes of their gar- 
ments. But this explication the 
commentators do not approve, pre- 
tending that by the white thread 


derstood the ight and dark streaks 
of the daybreak ; and they say the 
passage was at first revealed without 
the words ‘‘of the daybreak ;” but 
Muhammad’s followers, taking the 
expression in the first sense, regu- 
lated their practice accordingly, and 
continued eating and drinking till 
they could distinguish a white thread 
from a black thread, as they lay be-, 
fore them—to prevent which for the 
future, the words “ of the daybreak ” 
were added as explanatory of the 
former. Al Baidhdwi. Vide Pocock, 
not. in Carmen Tograi, p. 89, &c. 
Chardin, Voy. de Perse, tom. 2, p. 
423. 

4 Vide Chardin, ibid., p. 421, &c. 
Reland, De Relig. Moh., p. 109, &c. 

5 See post, Sect. VI. 


SEC. IV. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. sa rg 


thirty-three years, the length and heat of the days making 
the observance of it much more difficult and uneasy then 
than in winter. 

The reason given why the month of Ramadhan was 
pitched on for this purpose is, that on that month the 
Quran was sent down from heaven.t Some pretend that 
Abraham, Moses, and Jesus received their respective reve- 
lations in the same month? 

From the fast of Ramadhan none are excused, except The rule of 
only travellers and sick persons (under which last denomi- tha sek, &e. 
nation the doctors comprehend all whose health would 
manifestly be injured by their keeping the fast; as women 
with child and giving suck, ancient people, and young 
children); but then they are obliged, as soon as the im- 
pediment is removed, to fast an equal number of other 
days: and the breaking the fast is ordered to be expiated 
by giving alms to the poor.® 

Muhammad seems to have followed the guidance of the this also 
Jews in his ordinances concerning fasting, no less than feat the 
in the former particulars. That nation, when they fast, hile 
abstain not only from eating and drinking, but from 
women, and from anointing themselves,* from daybreak 
until sunset, and the stars begin to appear,®? spending 
the night in taking what refreshments they please. And 
they allow women with child and giving suck, old persons, 
and young children to be exempted from keeping most of 
the publi fasts.’ 

Though my design here be briefly to treat of those 
points only which are of indispensable obligation on a 
Muslim, and expressly required by the Quran, without 
entering into their practice as to voluntary and super- 








1 Qurén, c. 2, v. 185. See also 6 Vide Gemar. Yoma, f. 40, and 
Cc. 97. Maimon. in Halachoth Tdnioth, c. 
2 Al Baidhdwi, ex Trad. Moham- 5, § 5. 


medis. 7 Vide Gemar. Ténith, f. 12, and 
* See Quran, c. 2, y,/ 185: Yoma, f. $3, and Es Hayim, Ténith, 
4 Siphra, f. 252, 2. c. I. 


> Tosephothad Gemar. Yoma, f. 34. 
M 


178 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. (SEC. IV. 


erogatory works; yet, to show how closely Muhammad’s 
institutions follow the Jewish, I shall add a word or two 
Voluntary of the voluntary fasts of the Muhammadans. These are 
Muskms, such as have been recommended either by the example or 
approbation of their prophet; and especially certain days 
of those months which they esteem sacred: there being 
a tradition that he used to say, That a fast of one day in 
a sacred month was better than a fast of thirty days in 
another month, and that the fast of one day in Ramadhan 
was more meritorious than a fast of thirty days in a sacred 
month.1 Among the more commendable days is that 
Ashtira bor- Of Ashura, the tenth of Muharram, which, though some 


rowed from 


the Jewish writers tell us it was observed by the Arabs, and par- 

atonement, ticularly the tribe of Quraish, before Muhammad’s time, 
yet, as others assure us, that prophet borrowed both the 
name and the fast from the Jews, it being with them the 
tenth of the seventh month, or Tisri, and the great day of 
explation commanded to be kept by the law of Moses.® 
Al Kazwini relates that when Muhammad came to 
Madina, and found the Jews there fasted on the day of 
Ashura, he asked them the reason of it; and they told 
him it was because on that day Pharaoh and his people 
were drowned, Moses and those who were with him 
escaping: whereupon he said that he bore a nearer rela- 
tion to Moses than they, and ordered his followers to fast 
on that day. However, it seems afterwards he was not so 
well pleased in having imitated the Jews herein; and 
therefore declared that, if he lived another year, he would 
alter the day, and fast on the ninth, abhorring so near an 
agreement with them.* 

Pilgrimage The pilgrimage to Makkah is so necessary a point of 

to Makkab- »ractice that, according to a tradition of Muhammad, he 
who dies without performing it may as well die a Jew or 





1 Al Ghazali. 3 Levit. xvi. 29, and xxiii, ay B 
2 Al Barezi in Comment. ad Orat. 4 Ibn al Athir. Vide Poe. Spec., 
Ibn Nobate. Pp. 309. 


SEC. IV.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 179 


a Christian;! and the same is expressly commanded in 
the Quran.2 Before I speak of the time and manner of 
performing this pilgrimage, it may be proper to give a 
short account of the temple of Makkah, the chief scene of 
the Muhammadan worship; in doing which I need be the 
less prolix, because that edifice has been already described 
by several writers,? though they, following different rela- 
tions, have been led into some mistakes, and agree not 
with one another in several particulars: nor, indeed, do 
the Arab authors agree in all things, one great reason 
whereof is their speaking of different times. 

The temple of Makkah stands in the midst of the city, the temple 
and is honoured with the title of Masjid al Haram, ic, Scaibea” 
the sacred or inviolable temple. What is principally 
reverenced in this place, and gives sanctity to the whole, 
is a square stone building called the Kaabah, as some 
fancy, from its height, which surpasses that of the other 
buildings in Makkah,* but more probably from its quad- 
rangular form, and Bait Allah, z¢, the house of Gop, 
being peculiarly hallowed and set apart for his worship. 
The length of this edifice, from north to south, is twenty- 
four cubits, its breadth from east to west twenty-three 
cubits, and its height twenty-seven cubits: the door, 
which is on the east side, stands about four cubits from 
the ground; the floor being level with the bottom of the 
door. In the corner next this door is the black stone, of 
which I shall take notice by and by. On the north side 
of the Kaabah, within a semicircular enclosure fifty cubits 
long, lies the white stone, said to be the sepulchre of 
Ismail, which receives the rain-water that falls off the 
Kaabah by a spout, formerly of wood,® but now of gold. 


1 Al Ghazali. Mohammedans, p. 98, &c.; and 
2 Cap. 3, v.97. See also c. 22, Boulainvilliers, Vie de Mah. p. 54, 
vy. 36, and c. 2, v. 125, &c. &c., which last author is the most 


3 Chardin, Voy. de Perse, t. 2, p. particular. 4 Ahmad Ibn Yusaf. 
428, &c.; Bremond, Descrittioni > Sharif al Edrisi, and Kitab Ma- 
dell’ Egitto, &., 1. 1, ¢. 29; Pitts’ salik, apud Poc. Spec., p. 125, &e. 
Account of the Rel., &c., of the 6 Sharif al Edrisi, ibid. 


\ 


180 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


The Kaabah has a double roof, supported within by three 
octangular pillars of aloes wood, between which, on a bar 
of iron, hang some silver lamps. ‘The outside is covered 
with rich black damask, adorned with an embroidered 
band of gold, which is changed every year, and was for- 
merly sent by the Khalifahs, afterwards by the Sultans of — 
Egypt, and is now provided by the Turkish emperors.* 
At a small distance from the Kaabah, on the east side, is 
the Station or Place of Abraham, where is another stone 
much respected by the Muhammadans, of which some- 
thing will be said hereafter. 

The Kaabah, at some distance, is surrounded, but not 
entirely, by a circular enclosure of pillars, joined towards 
the bottom by a low balustrade, and towards the top by 
bars of silver. Just without this inner enclosure, on the 
south, north, and west sides of the Kaabah, are three 
buildings which are the oratories, or places where three of 
the orthodox sects assemble to perform their devotions 
(the fourth sect, viz., that of al Shafaf, making use of 
the Station of Abraham for that purpose), and towards the 


* “The interior} of the Caaba consists of a single room, the roof 
of which is supported by two columns, and it has no other light 
than what is received by the door. The ceiling, the upper half of 
the two columns, and the side walls to within about five feet of the 
floor, are hung with a thick stuff of red silk, richly interwoven with 
flowers and inscriptions in large characters of silver. The lower 
part of each pillar is lined with sweet aloe wood; and that part of 
the walls below the silk hangings is lined with fine white marble, 
ornamented with inscriptions cut in relief, and with elegant ara- 
besques ; the whole being of exquisite workmanship. The floor, 
which is upon a level with the door, and therefore about seven feet 
above the level of the area of the mosque, is laid with marble of 
different colours. Between the pillars numerous lamps are suspended 
—donations of the faithful, and said to be of solid gold. In the 
north-west corner of the chamber is a small gate, which leads up to 
the flat roof of the building. The interior ornaments are coeval 
with the restoration of the Caaba, which took place a.p, 1627.”— 
Burckhardts Travels in Arabia, quoted from Lane's Kurdn, p. 7. 

E. M. W. 


SEC. IV.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 181 


south-east stands the edifice which covers the well Zam- 
zam, the treasury, and the cupola of al Abbas.? 

All these buildings are enclosed, a considerable distance, 
by a magnificent piazza, or square colonnade, like that of 
the Royal Exchange in London, but much larger, covered 
with small domes or cupolas, from the four corners whereof 
rise aS many minarets or steeples, with double galleries, 
and adorned with gilded spires and crescents, as are the 
cupolas which cover the piazza and the other buildings. 
Between the pillars of both enclosures hang a great num- 
ber of lamps, which are constantly lighted at night. The 
first foundations of this outward enclosure were laid by 
Omar, the second Khalifah, who built no more than a low 
wall, to prevent the court of the Kaabah, which before 
lay open, from being encroached on by private buildings ; 
but the structure has been since raised, by the liberality of 
many succeeding princes and great men, to its present 
lustre.? | 

This is properly all that is called the temple, but the Sacred terri- 
whole territory of Makkah being also Haram or sacred, ae 
there is a third enclosure, distinguished at certain distances 
by small turrets, some five, some seven, and others ten 
miles distant from the city.2 Within this compass of 
eround it is not lawful to attack an enemy, or even to 
hunt or fowl, or cut a branch from a tree: which is the 
true reason why the pigeons at Makkah are reckoned 
sacred, and not that they are supposed to be of the race of 
that imaginary pigeon which some authors, who should 
have known better, would persuade us Muhammad made 
pass for the Holy Ghost.* 


1 Sharif al Edrisi, ibid. Geogr. Nub., p. 21. Al Mughultai, 

2 Poc. Spec., p. 116. in his Life of Muhammad, says the 

3 Gol. not. in Alfrag., p.99. [The pigeons of the temple of Makkah 
present limits extend much farther. are of the best breed of those which 
Burckhardt’s Travels in Arabia, p. laid their eggs at the mouth of the 
466. | cave where the prophet and Abu 

-4 Gab. Sionita et Joh. Hesronita, Baqr hid themselves when they fled 
de nonnullis Orient. urbib. ad cale. from that city. See ante, p. 86. 


The an- 
tiquity of 
the Kaabah. 


The present 
building. 


182 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


The temple of Makkah was a place of worship, and in 
singular veneration with the Arabs from great antiquity, 
and many centuries before Muhammad. Though it was 
most probably dedicated at first to an idolatrous use, 
yet the Muhammadans are generally persuaded that the 
Kaabah is almost coeval with the world: for they say 
that Adam, after his expulsion from paradise, begged of 
Gop that he might erect a building ike that he had seen 
there, called Bait al Mamur, or the frequented house, and 
al Durah, towards which he might direct his prayers, and 
which he might compass, as the angels do the celestial 
one. Whereupon Gop let down a representation of that 
house in curtains of light,? and set it in Makkah, per- 
pendicularly under its original,® ordering the patriarch to 
turn towards it when he prayed, and to compass it by 
way of devotion. After Adam’s death, his son Seth built 
a house in the same form of stones and clay, which being 
destroyed by the Deluge, was rebuilt by Abraham and 
Ismail,> at Gop’s command, in the place where the former 
had stood, and after the same model, they being directed 
therein by revelation.® 

After this edifice had undergone several reparations, it 
was, a few years after the birth of Muhammad, rebuilt by 
the Quraish on the old foundation,’ and afterwards repaired 


1 See ante, p. 38. 

2 Some say that the Bait al 
Mdmir itself was the Kaabah of 
Adam, which, having been let down 
to him from heaven, was, at the 
Flood, taken up again into heaven, 
and is there kept. Al Zamakh. in 
Quran, c. 2. 

3 Al Jizi, ex Trad. Ibn Abbds. 
It has been observed that the primi- 
tive Christian Church held a parallel 
opinion as to the situation of the 
celestial Jerusalem with respect to 
the terrestrial ; for in the apocryphal 
book of the Revelations of St. Peter 
(cap. 27), after Jesus has mentioned 
unto Peter the creation of the seven 


heavens—whence, by the way, it 
appears that this number of heavens 
was not devised by Muhammad— 
and of the angels, begins the de- 
scription of the heavenly Jerusalem 
in these words: ‘“‘ We have created 
the upper Jerusalem above the 
waters, which are above the third 
heaven, hanging directly over the 
lower Jerusalem,” &c. Vide Gag- 
nier, not. ad Abulfed. Vit. Moh., p. 
28. 

4 Al Shahristdni. 

5 Vide Quran, c. 2, v. 125. 

6 Al Janndbi, in Vita Abraham. 

7 Vide Abulfed. Vit. Moh., p. 13. 


SEC. IV.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 183 


by Abdullah Ibn Zubair, the Khalifah of Makkah, and at 
length again rebuilt by al Hajaj Ibn Yusaf, in the seventy- 
fourth year of the Hijra, with some alterations, in the 
form wherein it now remains.! Some years after, how- 
ever, the Khalifah Hartn al Rashid (or, as others write, 
his father, al Muhdi, or his grandfather, al Mansur) 
intended again to change what had been altered by al 
Hajaj, and to reduce the Kaabah to the old form in which 
it was left by Abdullah, but was dissuaded from meddling 
with it, lest so holy a place should become the sport of 
princes, and being new modelled after every one’s fancy, 
should lose that reverence which was justly paid it.2 But 
notwithstanding the antiquity and holiness of this build- 
ing, they have a prophecy, by tradition from Muhammad, 
that in the last times the Ethiopians shall come and 
utterly demolish it, after which it will not be rebuilt again 
for ever.? 

Before we leave the temple of Makkah, two or three the siacx 
particulars deserve further notice. One is the celebrated describea. 
black stone, which is set in silver, and fixed in the south- 
east corner of the Kaabah,* being that which looks towards 


* “ At the (north) east corner of the Kaaba, near the door, is the 
famous ‘black stone;’ it forms a part of the sharp angle of the 
building, at four or five feet above the ground. It is an irregular 
oval, about seven inches in diameter, with an undulated surface, 
composed of about a dozen smaller stones of different sizes and 
shapes, well joined together with a small quantity of cement, and 
perfectly smoothed ; it looks as if the whole had been broken into 
many pieces by a violent blow, and then united again. It is very 
difficult to determine accurately the quality of this stone, which has 
been worn to its present surface by the millions of touches and kisses 
it has received. It appears to me like a lava, containing several 
small extraneous particles of a whitish and a yellowish substance. 
Its colour is now a deep reddish brown, approaching to black ; it is 
surrounded on all sides by a border, composed of a substance which 


1 Abulfed. in Hist. Gen. al Jan- 3 Idem, Ahmad Ibn Yusaf. Vide 
ndbi, &e. 2 Al Janndbi. Poc. Spec., p. 115, & 


184 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


Basra, about two cubits and one-third, or, which is the 
same thing, seven spans from the ground. This stone is 
exceedingly respected by the Muhammadans, and is kissed 
by the pilgrims with great devotion, being called by some 
the right hand of Gop on earth. They fable that it is one 
of the precious stones of paradise, and fell down to the 
earth with Adam, and being taken up again, or otherwise 
preserved at the Deluge, the Angel Gabriel afterwards 
brought it back to Abraham when he was building the 
Kaabah. It was at first whiter than milk, but grew black 
long since by the touch of a menstruous woman, or, as 
others tell us, by the sins of mankind,’ or rather by the 
touches and kisses of so many people, the superficies only 
being black, and the inside still remaining white.2 When 
the Karmatians,? among other profanations by them offered 
to the temple of Makkah, took away this stone, they could 
not be prevailed on, for love or money, to restore it, though 
those of Makkah offered no less than five thousand pieces 
of gold for it* However, after they had kept it twenty- 
two years, seeing they could not thereby draw the pilgrims 
from Makkah, they sent it back of their own accord, at 
the same time bantering its devotees by telling them it 
was not the true stone; but, as it is said, it was proved to 
be no counterfeit by its peculiar quality of swimming on 
water.° 


I took to be a close cement of pitch and gravel, of a similar, but not 
quite the same, brownish colour. This border serves to support its 
detached pieces ; itis two or three inches in breadth, and rises a little 
above the surface of the stone.”—Burckhardt, pp. 137, 138, quoted in 
Muir's Life of Mahomet, vol, ii. chap. 11. 

Burton thinks it is an aérolite, 2M ie 


1 Al Zamakh, &c.,in Qurdén. Ah- the fundamental points of Muham- 


mad Ibn Yusaf. madism. See D’ Herbel., Bibl. Orient., 
3 Poc, mpec., Pp. 117, &c. Art. Carmath, and hereafter § viii. 
3 These Karmatians were a sect 4 D’Herbel., p. 4o. 


which arose in the year of the Hijra 5 Ahmad Ibn Yusaf, Abulfeda. 
278, and whose opinions overturned Vide Poc. Spec., p. 119. 


SEC. IV. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 185 


_ Another thing observable in this temple is the stone in The stone in 
Abraham’s Place, wherein they pretend to show his foot- Place. 
steps, telling us he stood on it when he built the Kaabah, 
and that it served him for a scaffold, rising and falling of 
itself as he had occasion,? though another tradition says he 
stood upon it while the wife of his son Ismail, whom he 
paid a visit to, washed his head.2 It is now enclosed in 
an iron chest, out of which the pilgrims drink the water 
of Zamzam,* and are ordered to pray at it by the Quran.® 
The officers of the temple took care to hide this stone 
when the Karmatians took the other.® 
The last thing I shall take notice of in the temple is the te wen 
well Zamzam, on the east side of the Kaabah, and which “”"”™ 
is covered with a small building and cupola. The Muham- 
madans are persuaded it is the very spring which gushed 
out for the relief of Ismail, when Hagar his mother 
wandered with him in the desert ;? and some pretend it 
was so named from her calling to him, when she spied it, 
in the Egyptian tongue, Zam, zam, that is, “Stay, stay,” § 
though it seems rather to have had the name from the 
murmuring of its waters. The water of this well is 
reckoned holy, and is highly reverenced, being not only 
drunk with particular devotion by the pilgrims, but also 
sent in bottles, as a great rarity, to most parts of the 
Muhammadan dominions, Abdullah, surnamed al Hafidh, 
from his great memory, particularly as to the traditions of 
Muhammad, gave out that he acquired that faculty by 
drinking large draughts of Zamzam water,® to which I 
really believe it as efficacious as that of Helicon to the 
inspiring of a poet. 
To this temple every Muhammadan, who has health and fame of the 


é : fe Nort 
means sufficient,!° ought once, at least, in his life to go on {6 Makkah, 


1 Abulfeda. 6 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 120, &e. 
2 Vide Hyde, De Rel. Vet. Pers., ? Gen. xxi. 19. 

Desh: 8 G. Sionit. et J. Hesr. de non. urb. 
3 Ahmad Ibn Yusaf, Safiu’ddin. Orient.,p. 19. % D’Herbel:, p. 5. 
4 Ahmad Ibn Yusaf. 10 See Qurdn, c. 3, v. 97, and the 
Be Capiz, Viil25. notes thereon. 


186 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. IV. 


pilgrimage; nor are women excused from the performance 
of this duty. The pilgrims meet at different places near 
Makkah, according to the different parts from whence they 
come,! during the months of Shawwal and Dhw1 Qaada, 
being obliged to be there by the beginning of Dhu'l Hajja, 
which month, as its name imports, is peculiarly set apart 
for the celebration of this solemnity. 

Beeae At the places above mentioned the pilerims properly 

on. commence the sacred rites. The men put on the Ihram, or 
sacred habit, which consists only of two woollen wrappers, 
one wrapped about the middle to cover their shame, and 
the other thrown over their shoulders, having their heads 
bare, and a kind of slippers which cover neither the heel 
nor the instep, and so enter the sacred territory on their 
way to Makkah. While they have this habit on they 
must neither hunt nor fowl? (though they are allowed to 
fish *), which precept is so punctually observed, that they 
will not kill even a louse or a flea, if they find them on 
their bodies: there are some noxious animals, however, 
which they have permission to kill during the pilgrimage, 
as kites, ravens, scorpions, mice, and dogs given to bite.* 
During the pilgrimage it behoves a man to have a constant 
guard over his words and actions, and to avoid all quar- 
relling or ill language, and all converse with women and 
obscene discourse, and to apply his whole intention to the 
good work he is engaged in. 

Visiting the The pilgrims, being arrived at Makkah, immediately visit 

ue areuhe temple, and then enter on the performance of the pre- 
scribed ceremonies, which consist chiefly in going in pro- 
cession round the Kaabah, in running between the Mounts 
Safa and Marwa, in making the station on Mount Arafat, 
and slaying the victims, and shaving their heads in the 
valley of Mina. These ceremonies have been so par- 
ticularly described by others,> that I may be excused 


1 Vide Bobov. de Peregr. Mecc., 4 Al Baid. 
p. 12, &e. > Bobov. de Peregr. Mece., p. 11. 
2 Qurdn, c. 5, vv. 95-97. ?Ibid. &c.; Chardin, Voy. de Perse, t. 2, 


SEC. IVv.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 187 


if I but just mention the most material circumstances 
thereof. 

In compassing the Kaabah, which they do seven times, 
beginning at the corner where the black stone is fixed, 
they use a short, quick pace the three first times they go 
round it, and a grave, ordinary pace the four last ; which, 
it is said, was ordered by Muhammad, that his followers 
might show themselves strong and active, to cut off the 
hopes of the infidels, who gave out that the immoderate 
heats of Madina had rendered them weak.! But the 
aforesaid quick pace they are not obliged to use every 
time they perform this piece of devotion, but only at some 
particular times.2 So often as they pass by the black stone, 
they either kiss it, or touch it with their hand, and kiss 
that. 

The running between Safa and Marwa®? is also per- 
formed seven times, partly with a slow pace, and partly 
running ;* for they walk gravely till they come to a place 
between two pillars; and there they run, and afterwards 
walk again; sometimes looking back, and sometimes stop- 
ping, like one who has lost something, to represent Hagar 
seeking water for her son;° for the ceremony is said to 
be as ancient as her time.® 

On the ninth of Dhw!] Hajja, after morning prayer, the 
pilgrims leave the valley of Mina, whither they come the 
day before, and proceed in a tumultuous and rushing 
manner to Mount Arafat,’ where they stay to perform 
their devotions till sunset: then they go to Muzdalifah, an 
oratory between Arafat and Mina, and there spend the 
night in prayer and reading the Quran. The next morn- 
ing, by daybreak, they visit al Mashar al Haram, or the 


p- 440, &c. See also Pitts’ Account 2 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 314. 

of the Rel., &c., of the Muhamma- 3 See ante, p. 42. 

dans, p. 92, &c.; Gagnier, Vie de 4 Al Ghazdli. 

Moh., t. 2, p. 258, &c.; Abulfed., 5 Reland, De Rel. Moh., p. 121. 

Vit. Muh., p. 130, &c. ; and Reland, 6 Tbn al Athir. 

De Rel. Moh., p. 113, &. 7See Qurdn, c, 2, v. 198, and 
1 Tbn al Athir. note there. 


Sacrifices 
and sacred 
offerings. 


The cere-° 
monies of 
pilgrimage 
borrowed 
from Arab 
heathenism. 


v 


188 FHE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SECS TVs 


sacred monument,! and departing thence before sunrise, 
haste by Batn Muhassir to the valley of Mina, where they 
throw seven stones? at three marks or pillars, in imitation 
of Abraham, who, meeting the devil in that place, and 
being by him disturbed in his devotions, or tempted to 
disobedience, when he was going to sacrifice his son, was 
commanded by Gop to drive him away by throwing stones 
at him;* though others pretend this rite to be as old as 
Adam, who also put the devil to flight in the same place 
and by the same means. 

This ceremony being over, on the same day, the tenth 
of Dhw'l Hajja, the pilgrims slay their victims in the said 
valley of Mina, of which they and their friends eat part, 
and the rest is given to the poor. These victims must be 
either sheep, goats, kine, or camels; males if of either of 
the two former kinds, and females if of either of the latter, 
and of a fit age.® The sacrifices being over, they shave 
their heads and cut their nails, burying them in the same 
place: after which the pilgrimage is looked on as com- 
pleted,® though they again visit the Kaabah, to take 
their leave of that sacred building. 

The above-mentioned ceremonies, by the confession of 
the Muhammadans themselves, were almost all of them 
observed by the pagan Arabs many ages before their pro- 
phet’s appearance; and particularly the compassing of the 
Kaabah, the running between Safé and Marwa, and the 
throwing of the stones in Mina; and were confirmed by 
Muhammad, with some alterations in such points as 
seemed most exceptionable: thus, for example, he ordered 
that when they compassed the Kaabah they should be 
clothed ;7 whereas, before his time, they performed that 


1 See Qurdn, c. 2, v. 188. M. Gag- says seventy, at different times and 

nier has been guilty of a mistake in places. Poc. Spec., p. 315. 
confounding this monument with 3 Al Ghazdéli, Ahmad Ibn Yusaf. 
the sacred enclosure of the Kaabah. 4 Tbn al Athir. 
Vide Gagn. not. ad Abulfed. Vit. 5 Vide Reland, ubi sup., p. 117. 
Moh., p. 131, and Vie de Moh., t. 2, 6 See Quran, c. 2, v. 196. 
py2o2: * Qurdn, Gr 7, Nui27y 32 

2'Dr. Pocock, from al Ghazéli, 


SEC. IV. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 189 y 


piece of devotion naked, throwing off their clothes as a 
mark that they had cast off their sins,! or as signs of their 
disobedience towards Gop.” 

It is also acknowledged that the greater part of these Object of 
rites are of no intrinsic worth, neither affecting the soul sce ea 
nor agreeing with natural reason, but altogether arbi- 
trary, and commanded merely to try the obedience of 
mankind, without any further view, and are therefore to 
be complied with; not that they are good in themselves, 
but because God has so appointed. Some, however, have 
endeavoured to find out some reasons for the abitrary in- 
junctions of this kind; and one writer,* supposing men 
ought to imitate the heavenly bodies, not only in their 
purity but in their circular motion, seems to argue the 
procession round the Kaabah to be therefore a rational 
practice. Reland® has observed that the Romans had 
something like this in their worship, being ordered by 
Numa to use a circular motion in the adoration of the 
gods, either to represent the orbicular motion of the world, 
or the perfecting the whole office of prayer to that Gop 
who is maker of the universe, or else in allusion to the 
Egyptian wheels, which were hieroglyphics of the insta- 
bility of human fortune.® 

The pilgrimage to Makkah, and the ceremonies pre- 
scribed to those who perform it, are, perhaps, liable to 
ereater exception than other of Muhammad’s institutions, 
not only as silly and ridiculous in themselves, but as 
relics of idolatrous superstition.’ Yet whoever seriously 
considers how difficult it is to make people submit to the 


1 Al Faik, de Tempore Ignor. 
Arabum, apud Mill. de Mohammed. 
ante Moh., p.322. Comp. Isa, lxiv. 6. 

2 Jalgl. al Baid. This notion 
comes very near if it be not the same 
with that of the Adamites. 

3 Al Ghazdli. Vide Abulfar. Hist. 
dynes D117 1; 

4 Abu Jéafar Ibn Tufail, in Vita 
Hai Ibn Yukdhdn, p. 151. See Mr. 


Ockley’s English translation thereof, 
Dp. 117: 

5 De Rel. Moh., p. 123. 

6 Plutarch. in Numa. 

7 Maimonides (in Epist. ad Prosel. 
Rel.) pretends that the worship of 
Mercury was performed by throw- 
ing of stones, and that of Chemosh 
by making bare the head and put- 
ting on unsewn garments. 


Muham- 
mad’s con- 
cession to 
Arab custom 
and super- 
stition. 


190 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. Iv. 


abolishing of ancient customs, how unreasonable soever, 
which they are fond of, especially where the interest of a 
considerable party is also concerned, and that a man may 
with less danger change many things than one great one,! 
must excuse Muhammad’s yielding some points of less 
moment to gain the principal. The temple of Makkah 
was held in excessive veneration by all the Arabs in 
general (if we except only the tribes of Tay and Khuzdah 
and some of the posterity of al Harith Ibn Qaab,? who 
used not to go in pilgrimage thereto), and especially by 
those of Makkah, who had a particular interest to support 
that veneration; and as the most silly and insignificant 
things are generally the objects of the greatest superstition, 
Muhammad found it much easier to abolish idolatry itself 
than to eradicate the superstitious bigotry with which 
they were addicted to that temple and the rites performed 
there ; wherefore, after several fruitless trials to wean 
them therefrom,’ he thought it best to compromise the 
matter, and rather than to frustrate his whole design, to 
allow them to go on pilgrimage thither, and to direct 
their prayers thereto, contenting himself with transferring 
the devotions there paid from their idols to the true Gop, 
and changing such circumstances therein as he judged 
might give scandal. And herein he followed the example 
of the most famous legislators, who instituted not such 
laws as were absolutely the best in themselves, but the 
best their people were capable of receiving; and we find 
Gop himself had the same condescendence for the Jews, 
whose hardness of heart he humoured in many things, 
giving them therefore statutes that were not good, and 
judgments whereby they should not live.** 


* For a clear and accurate description of the rites and ceremonies 
of the Muslim religion, the reader is referred to Hughes’ Notes on 





Muhammadanism. E. M, W. 
1 According to the maxim, T'utius 3 See Quran, c. 2, v. 147, &e. 
estmulta mutare quan unum magnum. 4 Ezek. xx. 25. Vide Spencer de 


2 Al Shahristdni. Urim et Thummim, c. 4, § 7. 


SECTION V. 


OF CERTAIN NEGATIVE PRECEPTS IN THE QURAN. 


HAVING in the preceding section spoken of the funda- 
mental points of the Muhammadan religion, relating both 
to faith and to practice, I shall in this and the two follow- 
ing discourses speak in the same brief method of some 
other precepts and institutions of the Quran which de- 
serve peculiar notice, and first of certain things which are 
thereby prohibited. 

The drinking of wine, under which name all sorts of The arink- 
strong and inebriating liquors are comprehended, is for- aa epeine 
bidden in the Quran in more places than one.t Some, forbiduen.. 
- indeed, have imagined that excess therein is only for- 
bidden, and that the moderate use of wine is allowed by 
two passages in the same book;? but the more received 
opinion is, that to drink any strong liquors, either in a 
lesser quantity or in a greater, is absolutely unlawful; 
and though libertines* indulge themselves in a contrary 
practice, yet the more conscientious are so strict, especially 
if they have performed the pilgrimage to Makkah,‘ that 
they hold it unlawful not only to taste wine, but to press 
erapes for the making of it, to buy or to sell it, or even to 
maintain themselves with the money arising by the sale 
of that liquor. The Persians, however, as well as the 
Turks, are very fond of wine; and if one asks them how 
it comes to pass that they venture to drink it, when it is 


1 See c. 2, v. 218, and c. 5, v. 92. 3 Vide Smith, a Morib. et Instit. 
2 Ca p. 2, v. 218 ‘and ¢, 16v..00,. Lurcar, Ep..2, p..25,. &c. 
Vide D* Herbel,, Bibl. Orient. , p. 696. 4 Vide hardin, ubi supra, p. 212. 


Question as 
to coffee and 
tobacco. 


192 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. V. 


so directly forbidden by their religion, they answer, that 
it is with them as with the Christians, whose religion 
prohibits drunkenness and whoredom as great sins, and 
who glory, notwithstanding, some in debauching girls and 
married women, and others in drinking to excess.1 

It has been a question whether coffee comes not under 
the above-mentioned prohibition,” because the fumes of it 
have some effect on the imagination. This drink, which 
was first publicly used at Aden in Arabia Felix, about 
the middle of the ninth century of the Hijra, and thence 
eradually introduced into Makkah, Madina, Egypt, Syria, 
and other parts of the Levant, has been the occasion of 
creat disputes and disorders, having been sometimes pub- 
licly condemned and forbidden, and again declared lawful 
and allowed.* At present the use of coffee is generally 
tolerated, if not granted, as is that of tobacco, though the 
more religious make a scruple of taking the latter, not 
only because it inebriates, but also out of respect to a 
traditional saying of their prophet (which, if it could be 
made out to be his, would prove him a prophet indeed), 
“That in the latter days there should be men who should 
bear the name of Muslims, but should not be really such; 
and that they should smoke a certain weed, which should 
be called Topacco.” However, the Eastern nations are 
generally so addicted to both, that they say, “A dish of 
coffee and a pipe of tobacco are a complete entertain- 
ment;” and the Persians have a proverb that coffee with- 
out tobacco is meat without salt.‘ 

Opium and bang (which latter is the leaves of hemp in 
pills or conserve) are also by the rigid Muhammadans 
esteemed unlawful, though not mentioned in the Quran, 


1 Chardin, ubi sup., p. 344. lOrigine et du Progrés du Café, & 

2 Abd al Qadir Muhammad al An- la fin du Voy. de l’Arabie Heur. de 
sdri has written a treatise concerning la Roque. 
coffee, wherein he argues for its law- * Reland, Dissert. Miscell., t. 2, p. 
fulness. Vide D’Herbel., art. Cah- 280. Vide Chardin, Voy. de Perse, 
vah. t. 2, pp. 14 and 60, 

3 Vide Le Traité Historique de 


SEC. V.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 193 


because they intoxicate and disturb the understanding as 
wine does, and in a more extraordinary manner: yet these 
drugs are now commonly taken in the East ;* but they 
who are addicted to them are generally looked upon as 
debauchees.? 

Several stories have been told as the occasion of Mu- 
hammad’s prohibiting the drinking of wine ;? but the true 
reasons are given in the Quran, viz., because the ill quali- 
ties of that liquor surpass its good ones, the common 
effects thereof being quarrels and disturbances in com- 
pany, and neglect, or at least indecencies, in the perfor- 
mance of religious duties. For these reasons it was that 
the priests were, by the Levitical law, forbidden to drink 
wine or strong drink when they entered the tabernacle,* 
and that the Nazarites,° and Rechabites,° and many pious 
persons among the Jews and primitive Christians, wholly 
abstained therefrom ; nay, some of the latter went so far as 
to condemn the use of wine as sinful.’ But Muhammad 
is said to have had a nearer example than any of these, in 
the more devout persons of his own tribe.® 

Gaming is prohibited by the Quran® in the same 
passages, and for the same reasons, as wine. The word 
al maisar, which is there used, signifies a particular manner 
of casting lots by arrows, much practised by the pagan 
Arabs, and performed in the following manner. A young 
camel being bought and killed, and divided into ten or 
twenty-eight parts, the persons who cast lots for them, to 
the number of seven, met for that purpose; and eleven 
arrows were provided, without heads or feathers, seven of 





* Opium is very commonly used by Muslims in India. &. Mm. w. 








1 Vide Chardin, ibid., p. 68, &c., 6 Jerem. xxxv. 5, &c: 
and D’Herbel., p. 200. 7 This was the heresy of those 
2 Vide Prid., Life of Mah, p. 82, called Encratite, and Aquarij. 
&e. ; Busbeq., Epist. 3, p. 255; and Khuaf, a Magian heretic, also de- 
Mandeville’s Travels, p. 170. clared wine unlawful ; but this was 
3 Qurdn, c. 2, v. 218; ¢. 5, v.92; after Muhammad’stime. Hyde, De 
and c. 4, v. 42 and note. See Prov. Rel. Vet. Pers., p. 300. 
xxiii. 29, &c. 8 Vide Reland, De Rel. Moh., p. 
4 Levit. x. 9. PU INUMpe vi 27° 271s) Capes Ve 285.5 Cc) 6, ve Oe: 
N 


The reason 
why wine- 
drinking 
was prohi- 
bited. 


Lots and 


games of 
chance for- 
bidden. 


Chess allow- 
able under 
restrictions. 


194 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. V. 


which were marked, the first with one notch, the second 
with two, and so on, and the other four had no mark at 
all1 These arrows were put promiscuously into a bag, 
and then drawn by an indifferent person, who had another 
near him to receive them, and to see he acted fairly; 
those to whom the marked arrows fell won shares in 
proportion to their lot, and those to whom the blanks fell 
were entitled to no part of the camel at all, but were 
obliged to pay the full price of it. The winners, however, 
tasted not of the flesh, any more than the losers, but the 
whole was distributed among the poor; and this they did 
out of pride and ostentation, it being reckoned a shame 
for a man to stand out, and not venture his money on 
such an occasion. This custom, therefore, though it was 
of some use to the poor and diversion to the rich, was 
forbidden by Muhammad, as the source of great incon- 
veniences, by occasioning quarrels and heart-burnings, 
which arose from the winners insulting of those who lost. 

Under the name of lots the commentators agree that 
all other games whatsoever, which are subject to hazard 
or chance, are comprehended and forbidden, as dice, cards, 
tables, &c. And they are reckoned so ill in themselves, 
that the testimony of him who plays at them is by the 
more rigid judged to be of no validity in a court of justice. 
Chess is almost the only game which the Muhammadan 
doctors allow to be lawful (though it has been a doubt 
with some),* because it depends wholly on skill and 
management, and not at all on chance: but then it is 
allowed under certain restrictions, viz., that it be no 
hindrance to the regular performance of their devotions, 
and that no money or other thing be played for or betted; 
which last the Turks, being Sunnis, religiously observe, 


1 Some writers, as al Zamakh. Hariri, al Baidhdwi, &. Vide Poc. 
and al Shirdzi, mention but three Spec., p. 324, &e. 
blank arrows. . 3 Qurdén, c. 5, v. 4. 

2 Auctores Nodhm al dorr, et * Vide Hyde, De Ludis Oriental. 
Nothr al dorr, al Zamakh. al Fir- in Proleg. ad Shahiludium. | 
auzibddi, al Shirdzi in Orat. al 


SEC. V.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 195 


but the Persians and Moguls do not.! But what Muham- 
mad is supposed chiefly to have disliked in the game of 
chess was the carved pieces, or men, with which the 
pagan Arabs played, being little figures of men, elephants, 
horses, and dromedaries ;? and these are thought, by some 
commentators, to be truly meant by the images prohibited 
in one of the passages of the Quran® quoted above. That 
the Arabs in Muhammad’s time actually used such images 
for chessmen appears from what is related in the Sunnat 
of Ali, who, passing accidentally by some who were 
playing at chess, asked, “ What images they were which 
they were so intent upon?” * for they were perfectly new 
to him, that game having been but very lately introduced 
into Arabia, and not long before into Persia, whither it was 
first brought from India in the reignof Khusri Anushirwan. 
Hence the Muhammadan doctors infer that the game was 
disapproved only for the sake of the images: wherefore 
the Sunnis always play with plain pieces of wood or 
ivory; but the Persians and Indians, who are not so 
scrupulous, continue to make use of the carved ones.® * 

The Muhammadans comply with the prohibition of 
gaming much better than they do with that of wine; for 
though the common people, among the Turks more fre- 
quently, and the Persians more rarely, are addicted to 
play, yet the better sort are seldom guilty of it.’ 

Gaming, at least to excess, has been forbidden in all 
well-ordered states. Gaming-houses were reckoned scan- 
dalous places among the Greeks, and a gamester is declared 
by Aristotle® to be no better than a thief: the Roman 
senate made very severe laws against playing at games of 
hazard,® except only during the Saturnalia; though the 


* This statement is there than doubtful. &.M. w. 


1 Vide Hyde, De Ludis Oriental. 5 Khondemir. apud eund. ibid., 
in Proleg. ad Shahiludium. p. 41. © Vide Hyde, ubi sup.,.p. 9. 
2 Vide eundem, ibid., and in Hist. 7 Vide eundem, in Proleg., and 
Shahiludij, p.135,&c. 3 Cap. 5, v.92. Chardin, Voy. de Perse, t. 2, p. 46. 
4 Sukaikar al Dimishki, and Auc- 8 Lib. iv. ad Nicom, 
tor libri al Mustatraf, apud Hyde, 9 Vide Horat., 1. 3. Carm. Od. 
ubi sup., p. 8. 24. 


Divining by 
arrows for- 
bidden. 


196 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. V. 


people played often at other times, notwithstanding the 
prohibition: the civil law forbade all pernicious games, 
and though the laity were, in some cases, permitted to 
play for money, provided they kept within reasonable 
bounds, yet the clergy were forbidden to play at tables 
(which is a game of hazard), or even to look on while 
others played Accursius, indeed, is of opinion they may 
play at chess, notwithstanding that law, because it is a 
game not subject to chance,’ and being but newly invented 
in the time of Justinian, was not then known in the 
Western parts. However, the monks for some time were 
not allowed even chess.* 

As to the Jews, Muhammad’s chief euides, they also 
hichly disapprove gaming: gamesters being severely 
censured in the Talmud, and their testimony declared 
invalid.® 

Another practice of the idolatrous Arabs forbidden also 
in one of the above-mentioned passages,® was that of 
divining by arrows. The arrows used by them for this 
purpose were like those with which they cast lots, being 
without heads or feathers, and were kept in the temple 
of some idol, in whose presence they were consulted. 
Seven such arrows were kept at the temple of Makkah; ? 
but generally in divination they made use of three only, 
on one of which was written, “My Lorp hath commanded 
me,” on another, “My Lorp hath forbidden me,’ and the 
third was blank. If the first was drawn, they looked on 
it as an approbation of the enterprise in question; if 
the second, they made a contrary conclusion; but if the 
third happened to be drawn, they mixed them and drew 


1 ff, de Aleatoribus, Novell. Just. etiam Maimon. in Tract. Gezila. — 
123, &c. Vide Hyde, ubi sup. in Among the modern civilians, Mas- 


Hist. Ale, p. 119. cardus thought common gamesters 
2 Authent. interdicimus,c. deepis- were not to be admitted as wit- 

copis. nesses, being infamous persons. Vide 
3 In Com. ad Legem Pred. Hyde, ubi sup. in Proleg. et in Hist. 
4 Du Fresne, in Gloss. Alez, § 3. 


5 Bava Mesia, 84, 1; Rosh has- 6 Qurdn, ¢.°5, v. 4. 
hana and Sanhedr. 24, 2. Vide 7 See ante, p. 42. 


re 
a 


SEC. V.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 197 


over again, till a decisive answer was given by one of the 
others. These divining arrows were generally consulted 
before anything of moment was undertaken; as when a 
man was about to marry, or about to go a journey, or the 
hke.t This superstitious practice of divining by arrows 
was used by the ancient Greeks,? and other nations; and 
is particularly mentioned in Scripture,? where it is said 
that “the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the 
way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he 
made his arrows bright” (or, according to the version of 
the Vulgate, which seems preferable in this place, “he 
mixed together or shook the arrows”), “he consulted with 
images,” &.; the commentary of St. Jerome on which 
passage wonderfully agrees with what we are told of the 
aforesaid custom of the old Arabs: “ He shall stand,” says 
he, “in the highway, and consult the oracle after the man- 
ner of his nation, that he may cast arrows into a quiver, 
and mix them together, being written upon or marked with 
the names of each people, that he may see whose arrow will 
come forth, and which city he ought first to attack.” + 

A distinction of meats was so generally used by the 
Eastern nations, that it is no wonder that Muhammad 
made some regulations in that matter. The Quran, there- 
fore, prohibits the eating of blood, and swine’s flesh, and 
whatever dies of itself, or is slain in the name or in honour 
of any idol, or is strangled, or killed by a blow, or a fall, 
or by any other beast.2 In which particulars Muhammad 
seems chiefly to have imitated the Jews, by 'whose law, 
as is well known, all those things are forbidden; but he 
allowed some things to be eaten which Moses did not,§ as 
camels’ flesh’ in particular. In cases of necessity, how- 





1 Tbn al Athir, al Zamakh., and 8 Ezek. xxi, 21. 
al*Baid. in Quran, ¢. 5,;-v.4, Al 4 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 329, &c. 
Mustatraf, &. Vide Poe. Spec., p. SOAR P25 VRE eth sh Valdes Oy 
327, &c., and D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., 6, v. 146; and c. 16, v. 116. 
art. Kodah. 6 Levit. xi. 4. ; 

2 Vide Potter, Antiq. of Greece, 7 See Qurdn, c, 3, vv. 49 and 93, 
WOLni. Ds 3340, and c, 6, v. 146. 


Laws con- 


cerning 
meats. 


198 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. v. 


ever, where a man may be in danger of starving, he is 
allowed by the Muhammadan law to eat any of the said 
prohibited kinds of food;+ and the Jewish doctors grant 
the same liberty in the same case.?_ Though the aversion 
to blood and what dies of itself may seem natural, yet 
some of the pagan Arabs used to eat both: of their eating 
of the latter some instances will be given hereafter; and 
as to the former, it is said they used to pour blood, which 
they sometimes drew from a live camel, into a gut, and 
then broiled it in the fire, or boiled it, and ate it:% this 
food they called Muswadd, from Aswad, which signifies 
black ; the same nearly resembling our black puddings in 
name as well as composition.4 The eating of meat offered 
to idols I take to be commonly practised by all idolaters, 
being looked on as a sort of communion in their worship, 
and for that reason esteemed by Christians, if not absolutely 
unlawful, yet as what may be the occasion of great scandal ;* 
but the Arabs were particularly superstitious in this matter, 
killing what they ate on stones erected on purpose around 
the Kaabah, or near their own houses, and calling, at the 
same time, on the name of some idol. Swine’s flesh, in- 
deed, the old Arabs seem not to have eaten; and their 
prophet, in prohibiting the same, appears to have only 
confirmed the common aversion of the nation. Foreign 
writers tell us that the Arabs wholly abstained from 
swine’s flesh,’ thinking it unlawful to feed thereon,’ and 
that very few, if any, of those animals are found in their 
country, because it produces not proper food for them ;? 
which has made one writer imagine that if a hog were 
carried thither, it would immediately die.” 





1 Qurdn, c. 5, v. 2, &c., and in 5 Compare Acts xv. 29 with 1 


the other passages last quoted. Cor. viii. 4, &c. 

2 Vide Maimon. in Halachoth 6 See the fifth chapter of the 
Melachim, c. 8, $i. &e. Quran, v. 4, and the notes there. 

3 Nothr al dorr, al Firauz., al 7 Solin. de Arab., c. 33. 
Zamakh., and al Baid. 8 Hieronym. in Jovin. 1. 2, ¢. 6. 

4 Poc. Spec., p. 320. ® Idem, ibid. 


10 Solinus, ubi supra, 


SEC. V.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 199 


In the prohibition of usury! I presume Muhammad Of uswy 


and certain 


also followed the Jews, who are strictly forbidden by supersti- 
their law to exercise it among one another, though they toms. 
are so infamously guilty of it in their dealing with those 
of a different religion; but I do not find the prophet of 
the Arabs has made any distinction in this matter. 

Several superstitious customs relating to cattle, which 
seem to have been peculiar to the pagan Arabs, were also 
abolished by Muhammad. The Quran? mentions four 
names by them given to certain camels or sheep, which 
for some particular reasons were left at free liberty, and 
were not made use of as other cattle of the same kind. 
These names are Bahira, Saiba, Wasila, and Hami: of 
each whereof in their order. 

As to the first, it is said that when a she-camel or a the customs 


: : lati ( 
sheep had borne young ten times, they used to slit her fhe Batine, 
ear, and turn her loose to feed at full liberty; and when S74” 


Hami ex- 


she died, her flesh was eaten by the men only, the women jhainea. 
being forbidden to eat thereof: and such a camel or sheep, 
from the slitting of her ear, they called Bahira. Or the 
Bahira was a she-camel, which was turned loose to feed, 
and whose fifth young one, if it proved a male, was killed 
and eaten by men and women promiscuously ; but if it 
proved a female, had its ear slit, and was dismissed to 
free pasture, none being permitted to make use of its 
flesh or milk, or to ride on it; though the women were 
allowed to eat the flesh of it when it died: or it was the 
female young of the Saiba, which was used in the same 
manner as its dam; or else an ewe, which had yeaned 
five times.2 These, however, are not all the opinions 
concerning the Bahira; for some suppose that name was 
given to a she-camel, which, after having brought forth 
young five times, if the last was a male, had her ear slit, 
as a mark thereof, and was let go loose to feed, none 
driving her from pasture or water, nor using her for 


1 Qurdn, ¢. 2, Vv. 275; 2) Gap.e55.¥.1 102. 3 Al Firauzdbddi. 


200 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. V. 


carriage;! and others tell us that when a camel had 
newly brought forth, they used to slit the ear of her young 
one, saying, “O Gop, if it live, it shall be for our use, but 
if it die, it shall be deemed rightly slain;” and when it 
died they ate it.” 

Sdiba signifies a she-camel turned loose to go where she 
will. And this was done on various accounts: as when 
she had brought forth females ten times together; or in 
satisfaction of a vow; or when a man had recovered from 
sickness, or returned safe from a journey, or his camel 
had escaped some signal danger either in battle or other- 
wise. A camel so turned loose was declared to be Sdiba, 
and, as a mark of it, one of the vertebre or bones was taken 
out of her back, after which none might drive her from 
pasture or water, or ride on her Some say that the 
Sdiba, when she had ten times together brought forth 
females, was suffered to go at liberty, none being allowed 
to ride on her, and that her milk was not to be drank by 
any but her young one, or a guest, till she died; and 
then her flesh was eaten by men as well as women, and 
her last female young one had her ear slit, and was called 
Bahira, and turned loose as her dam had been. 

This appellation, however, was not so strictly proper 
to female camels, but that it was given to the male when 
his young one had begotten another young one:® nay, a 
servant set at liberty and dismissed by his master was 
also called Sdiba;® and some are of opinion that the 
word denotes an animal which the Arabs used to turn 
loose in honour of their idols, allowing none to make use 
of them thereafter, except women only.’ 

Wasila is, by one author,’ explained to signify a she- 
camel which had brought forth ten times, or an ewe which 


1 Al Zamakh., al Baidhdwi, al 5 Al Firauz. 


Mustatraf. 6 Idem, al Jawhari, &c. 
2 Ibn al Athir. 7 Nothr al dorr and Nodhm al 
_ 3 Al Firauzdb., al Zamakh. dorr. 


4 Al Jawhari, Ibn al Athir. ‘ 8 Al Firauz. 


SEC. V.] ~THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 201 


had yeaned seven times, and every time twins; and if the 
seventh time she brought forth a male and a female, they 
said, “ Wusilat akhaha,” «¢, “She is joined,” or, “‘ was 
brought forth with her brother,” after which none might 
drink the dam’s milk, except men only ; and she was used 
as the Saiba. Or Wasila was particularly meant of sheep; 
as when an ewe brought forth a female, they took it to 
themselves, but when she brought forth a male, they con- 
secrated it to their gods, but if both a male and a female, 
they said, “She is joined to her brother,’ and did not 
sacrifice that male to their gods: or Wasila was an ewe 
which brought forth first a male and then a female, on 
which account, or because she followed her brother, 
the male was not killed; but if she brought forth a male 
only, they said, “Let this be an offering to our gods,” } 
Another? writes, that if an ewe brought forth twins seven 
times together, and the eighth time a male, they sacrificed 
that male to their gods; but if the eighth time she brought 
both a male and a female, they used to say, “She is joined 
to her brother,” and for the female’s sake they spared the 
male, and permitted not the dam’s milk to be drunk by 
women. A third writer tells us, that Wasila was an ewe, 
which having yeaned seven times, if that which she 
- brought forth the seventh time was a male, they sacri- 
ficed it, but if a female, it was’suffered to go loose, and 
was made use of by women only; and if the seventh time 
she brought forth both a male and a female, they held them 
both to be sacred, so that men only were allowed to make 
any use of them, or to drink the milk of the female: and 
a fourth? describes it to be an ewe which brought forth 
ten females at five births one after another, «¢., every 
time twins, and whatever she brought forth afterwards 
was allowed to men,.and not to women, &c. 

Hami was a male camel used for a stallion, which, if 
the females had conceived ten times by him, was after- 


1 Al Firauz., al Zamakh. 2 Al Jawhari. 3 Al Mutarrezi. 


Muhammad 
prohibits 
infanticide. 


202 | THE PRELIMINARY’ DISCOURSE. [SEC. V. 


wards freed from labour, and let go loose, none driving 
him from pasture or from water; nor was any allowed 
to receive the least benefit from him, not even to shear 
his hair. 

These things were observed by the old Arabs in honour 
of their false gods,? and as part of the worship which they 
paid them, and were ascribed to the divine institution ; 
but are all condemned in the Quran, and declared to be 
impious superstitions.’ 

The law of Muhammad also put a stop to the inhuman 
custom, which had been long practised by the pagan Arabs, 
of burying their daughters alive, lest they should be re- 
duced to poverty by providing for them, or else to avoid 
the displeasure and disgrace which would follow, if they 
should happen to be made captives, or to become scanda- 
lous by their behaviour;* the birth of a daughter being, 
for these reasons, reckoned a great misfortune,® and the 
death of one as ‘a great happiness. The manner of their 
doing this is differently related: some say that when an 
Arab had a daughter born, if he intended to bring her up, 
he sent her, clothed in a garment of wool or hair, to keep 
camels or sheep in the desert; but if he designed to put 
her to death, he let her live till she became six years old, 
and then said to her mother, “ Perfume her, and adorn 
her, that I may carry her to her mothers ;” which being 
done, the father led her to a well or pit dug for that 
purpose, and having bid her to look down into it, pushed 
her in headlong, as he stood behind her, and then filling 
up the pit, levelled it with the rest of the ground; but 
others say, that when a woman was ready to fall in labour, 
they dug a pit, on the brink whereof she was to be de- 
livered, and if the child happened to be a daughter, they 
threw it into the pit, but if a son, they saved it alive.’ 


1 Al Firauz., al Jawhari. 4 Al Baidhawi, al Zamakh., al 
2 Jaldl. in Qurdn. Mustatraf. 
S QUte Ty iiss VenkO2,uand -c. 6, 5 See Quran, c. 16, vv. 60, 61. 


v. 142-145. Vide Poc. Spec., pp. § Al Maidani. 7 Al Zamakh. 
330-334: 


SEC, v.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 203 


This custom, though not observed by all the Arabs in 
general, was yet very common among several of their tribes, 
and particularly those of Quraish and Kinda; the former 
using to bury their daughters alive in Mount Abu Dalama, 
near Makkah.! In the time of ignorance, while they used 
this method to get rid of their daughters, Sasaa, grand- 
father to the celebrated poet al Farazdak, frequently 
redeemed female children from death, giving for every 
one two she-camels big with young, and a_he-camel; 
and hereto al Farazdak alluded when, vaunting himself 
before one of the Khalifahs of the family of Omayyah, 
he said, “I am the son of the giver of life to the dead ;” 
for which expression being censured, he excused himself 
by alleging the following words of the Quran,? “He who 
saveth a soul alive, shall be as if he had saved the lives 
of all mankind.” The Arabs, in thus murdering of their 
children, were far from being singular; the practice of 
exposing infants and putting them to death being so 
common among the ancients, that it is remarked as a 
thing very extraordinary in the Egyptians, that they 
brought up ai their children;* and by the laws of 
Lycurgus ° no child was allowed to be brought up without 
the approbation of publi officers. At this day, it is said, in 
China, the poorer sort of peoplefrequently put their children, 
the females especially, to death with impunity.® * 


* The same practice was common among several castes of the 
Hindus. It is worthy of note that the motives for the act were 


the same as those which influenced the heathen Arabs. 


1 Al Mustatraf. 

#1Gap. 5,.¥- 35: 

3 Al Mustatraf. Vide Ibn Kha- 
liqén, in Vita al Farazdak, and 
Poc. Spec., p. 334. 

4 Strabo, 1. 17. 
Sic., 1. 1, ¢. So. 

5 Vide Plutarch, in Lycurgo. 

6 Vide Pufendorf, de Jure Nat. 
Pemuent:, 1 6, 6.7, os Os | Lie 
Grecians also treated daughters 


Vide Diodor. 


E. M. W. 


especially in this manner—whence 

that saying of Posidippus : 

"Tidy tpédel tis Kav wévns dv TX, 

Ovyarépa dé éxrlnoixdy 7 wovoros— 

“A man, tho’ poor, will not expose 
his son ; 

' But if he’s rich, will scarce preserve 
his daughter.” — 

See Potter’s Antiq. of Greece, vol. 

ieee cee 


204 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. V. 


This wicked practice is condemned by the Quran in 
several passages;! one of which, as some commentators ? 
judge, may also condemn another custom of the Arabians, 
altogether as wicked, and as common among other nations 
of old, viz., the sacrificing of their children to their idols ; 
as was frequently done, in particular, in satisfaction of a 
vow they used to make, that if they had a certain number 
of sons born, they would offer one of them in sacrifice, 

Several other superstitious customs were likewise abro- 
gated by Muhammad, but the same being of less moment, 
and not particularly mentioned in the Quran, or having 
been occasionally taken notice of elsewhere, I shall say 
nothing of them in this place. 


i Cap. -6, °vv.. 137 and “151 3°c; 16, vv, 60, 61; and c;/717; vr 397 ee 
also chap. 81, v. 8. 
2 Al Zamakh., al Baid. 


( 205 ) 


SECTION VI. 
OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE QURAN IN CIVIL AFFAIRS. 


THe Muhammadan civil law is founded on the precepts 
and determinations of the Quran, as the civil laws of the 
Jews were on those of the Pentateuch ; yet being variously 
interpreted, according to the different. decisions of their 
civilians, and especially of their four great doctors, Abu 
Hantfa, Malik, al Shafai, and Ibn Hanbal,! to treat thereof 
fully and distinctly in the manner the curiosity and use- 
fulness of the subject deserves, would require a large 
volume; wherefore the most that can be expected here 
is a summary view of the principal institutions, without 
minutely entering into a detail of particulars. We shall 
begin with those relating to marriage and divorce. 

That polygamy, for the moral lawfulness of which the Laws _ 
Muhammadan doctors advance several arguments,? is Sede 
allowed by the Quran, every one knows, though few are 
acquainted with the limitations with which it is allowed. 
Several learned men have fallen into the vulgar mistake 
that Muhammad granted to his followers an unbounded 
plurality ; some pretending that a man may have as many 
wives, and others as many concubines,* as he can main- 


1 See Sect. VIII. falsely asserts the restraint of the 


2 See ante, Sect. IL., p. 72. 

3 Nic. Cusanus, in Cribrat. Alcor., 
]. 2, c. 19. Olearius, in Itinerar. 
P. Greg. Tholosanus, in Synt. 
Juris, 1. 9, c. 2, § 22. Septemcas- 
trensis (De Morib. Turc., p. 24) says 
the Muhammadans may have twelve 
lawful wives, and no more. Ricaut 


number of their wives to be no pre- 
cept of their religion, but a rule 
superinduced on a politic considera- 
tion. Pres. State of the Ottoman 
Empire, bk. iii. c. 21. 

4 Marrace. in Prodr. ad Refut. 
Alcor., part: iv. pp, 52 and. 71. 
Prideaux, Life of Mah, p. 114. 


206 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. VI. 


tain: whereas, according to the express words of the 
Quran, no man can have more than four, whether wives 
or concubines;?* and if a man apprehend any incon- 
venience from even that number of ingenuous wives, it 
is added, as an advice (which is generally followed by the 
middling and inferior people),? that he marry one only, 
or, if he cannot be contented with one, that he take up 
with his she-slaves, not exceeding, however, the limited 
number;* and this is certainly the utmost Muhammad 
allowed his followers: nor can we urge, as an argument 
against so plain a precept, the corrupt manners of his 
followers, many of whom, especially men of quality and 
fortune, indulge themselves in criminal excesses;° nor 
yet the example of the prophet himself,+ who had peculiar 
privileges in this and other points, as will be observed 
hereafter. In making the above-mentioned limitation, 
Muhammad was directed by the decision of the Jewish 


* Muir (Life of Mahomet, vol. ili. p. 303) says, ‘There is no limit, 
as supposed by Sale, to the number of slave-girls, with whom (irre- 
spective of his four wives) a Moslem may, without any antecedent 
ceremony or any guarantee of continuance, cohabit. Female slavery, 
being a condition necessary to the legality of this illimitable indul- 
gence, will never be put down, with a willing or hearty co-operation, 
by any Mussalman community.” E. M. W. 

+ Surely the “peculiar privileges” of the prophet, whereby all 
limit as to the number of his wives and concubines was set aside, 
added to his example, wherein he appeared as the possessor of ten 
wives besides his concubines, must have gone far to weaken the 


Chardin, Voy. de Perse, t. I, p. 5 Sir J. Mandeville (who, ex- 


166. Du Ryer, Sommaire de la 
Rel. des Turcs, mis & la téte de sa 
version de lAlcor. Ricaut, ubi 
supra. Pufendorf, De Jure Nat. et 
Gent., l. 6, ¢. 1, § 18. 

a Gap: 4, 32°: 

2 ‘Vide Gagnier, in Notisad Abul- 
fede Vit. Moh., p. 150. Reland, 
De Rel. Moh., p. 243, &e., and Sel- 
den, Uszo Hébr.,"1 1; °c."0. 

3 Vide Reland, ubi sup., p. 244. 

* Quran, G4, ¥. 3. 


cepting a few silly stories he tells 
from hearsay, deserves more credit 
than some travellers of better repu- 
tation), speaking of the Qurdn, ob- 
serves, among several other truths, 
that Muhammad therein commanded 
a man should have two wives, or 
three, or four ; though the Muham- 
madans then took nine wives, and 
lemans as many as they might sus- 
tain, Mandev. Travels, p. 164. 


BEC. V¥I.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 207 


doctors, who, by way of counsel, limit the number of wives 
to four,’ though their law confines them not to any certain 
num ber.? 

Divorce is also well known to be allowed by the Mu- 
hammadan law, as it was by the Mosaic, with this dif- 
ference only, that, according to the latter, a man could not 
take again a woman whom he had divorced, and who had 
been married or betrothed to another;? whereas Muham- 
mad, to prevent his followers from divorcing their wives 
on every light occasion, or out of an inconstant humour, 
ordained that if a man divorced his wife the third time 
(for he might divorce her twice without being obliged to 
part with her, if he repented of what he had done), it 
should not be lawful for him to take her again until she 
had been first married and bedded by another, and divorced 
by such second husband.* And this precaution has had 
so good an effect that the Muhammadans are seldom known 
to proceed to the extremity of divorce, notwithstanding 
the liberty given them, it being reckoned a great disgrace so 
todo; and there are but few, besides those who have little 
or no sense of honour, that will take a wife again on the 
condition enjoined.®* It must be observed that, though 


force of his explicit precepts, given for the guidance of his followers. 
Would not the holy precepts of Jesus, as recorded in the Sermon on 
the Mount, have lost much of their power over Christian hearts, had 
he claimed for himself the special privilege of total exemption from 
them, and, more so, had his example illustrated a lower grade of 
moral rectitude ? E. M. W. 

* The large dowry, fixed on the bride by the groom before the 
marriage is consummated, to be paid in case of a divorce without 
proper cause, is more potent than the Quran in preventing divorce, 

E. M. W. 


1 Maimon, in Halachoth Ishoth., 1. Vide Selden, ubi sup., 1. 1, ¢. 


c. 14. oe 
2 Idem, ibid. Vide Selden, @\(Qniran, ¢1'2,.¥, 230. 
Cixor. Hebr., dc t,.¢. 0. 5 Vide Selden, ubi sup., 1. 3, ¢. 


3 Deut. xxiv. 3, 4. Jerem. iii, 21, and Ricaut’s State of the Ottom. 
Empire, bk, ii. c..21. 


Law 
concerning 
divorce. 


208 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. VI. 


aman is allowed by the Muhammadan, as by the Jewish 
law,! to repudiate his wife even on the slightest disgust, 
yet the women are not allowed to separate themselves 
from their husbands, unless it be for ill-usage, want of 
proper maintenance, neglect of conjugal duty, impotency, 
or some cause of equal import; but then she generally . 
loses her dowry,? which she does not if divorced by her 
husband, unless she has been guilty of impudicity or 
notorious disobedience.? 

When a woman is divorced, she is obliged, by the direc- 
tion of, the Quran, to wait till she hath had her courses 
thrice, or, if there be a doubt whether she be subject to 
them or not, by reason of her age, three months, before 
she marry another; after which time expired, in case she 
be found not with child, she is at full liberty to dispose 
of herself as she pleases; but if she prove with child, she 
must wait till she be delivered; and during her whole 
term of waiting she may continue in the husband’s house, 
and is to be maintained at his expense, it being forbidden 
to turn the woman out before the expiration of the term, 
unless she be guilty of dishonesty. Where a man divorces 
a woman before consummation, she is not obliged:to wait 
any particular time,® nor is he obliged to give her more 
than one-half of her dower.® If the divorced woman have 
a young child, she is to suckle it till it be two years old; 
the father, in the meantime, maintaining her in all respects: 
a widow is also obliged to do the same, and to wait four 
months and ten days before she marry again.’ 

These rules are also copied from those of the Jews, 
according to whom a divorced woman or a widow cannot 
marry another man till ninety days be past, after the 








1 Deut. xxiv. 1. Leo Modena, 3 Qurén, c. 4,.v. 18, &e. 
Hist. de gli Riti Hebr., part i. c. 6. * Qurdn, ¢. 2, v..228, and c, 65, 


Vide Selden, ubi sup. Ved, woe. 
2 Vide Busbeq., Ep. 3, p. 184; Sa Ibid. G1 tveaoe 
Smith, De Morib., ac Instit. Turcar., S Ibid.; Gace. pes7 


Ep. 2, p. 52; and Chardin, Voy. de 7 Ibid., c. -2; vv. 233-235, and c. 
Perse, t. 1, p. 169. 65,508, Oc 


SEC. VI.] |THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 209 


divorce or death of the husband;1 and she who gives 
suck is to be maintained for two years, to be computed 
from the birth of the child, within which time she 
must not marry, unless the child die, or her milk be 
dried up.? 
Whoredom, in single women as well as married, was, in L@ws con- 


‘ c ' : cerning 
the beginning of Muhammadism, very severely punished, 24ultery 


such being ordered to be shut up in prison till they died ; cation, 
but afterwards it was ordained by the Sunnat that an 
adulteress should be stoned,? and an unmarried woman 
guilty of fornication scourged with a hundred stripes and 
banished fora year.4 A she-slave, if convicted of adultery, 
is to suffer but half the punishment of a free woman,’ viz., 
fifty stripes and banishment for six months, but is not to 
be put to death. To convict a woman of adultery, so as 
to make it capital, four witnesses are expressly required,® 
and those, as the commentators say, ought to be men; 
and if a man falsely accuse a woman of reputation of 
whoredom of any kind, and is not able to support the 
charge by that number of witnesses, he is to receive four- 
score stripes, and his testimony is to be held invalid for 
the future? Fornication, in either sex, is by the sentence 
of the Quran to be punished with a hundred stripes.® 

If a man accuse his wife of infidelity, and is not able to 
prove it by sufficient evidence, and will swear four times 
that it is true, and the fifth time imprecate Gop’s vengeance 
on him if it be false, she is to be looked on as convicted, 
unless she will take the like oaths and make the hke im- 





1 Mishna, tit. Yabimoth, c. 4. 
Gemar. Babyl. ad eund. tit. Mai- 
mon, in Halach. Girushin, Shylhin 
Aruch, part iii. 

2 Mishna, and Gemara, and Mai- 
mon., ubi supra. Gem. Babyl. ad 
tit. Cetuboth, c. 5, and Jos. Karo, 
in Shylhdn Aruch, c. 50, § 2. Vide 
Selden, Ux. Hebr., 1. 2, c. 11, and 
Latuc: 10; invtin, 

3 And the adulterer also, accord- 
ing to a passage once extant in the 





Qurdn, and still in force, as some 
suppose. See the notes to Qurdn, 
c. 3, v. 23, and the Prel. Disc., p. 
1 A 1 ts 

4 Qurén, c. 4, vs. 14, 15. See the 
notes there. 

B Tbidsp vie24: 

6 Thid., c. 4, v. 14. 

7 ‘Thidk5¢e.424,¥.-4. 

8 Thid., vs., 1-3. This law relates 
not to married people, as Selden 
supposes, Ux. Heb., 1. 3, c. 12, 


O 


What the 
lw of the 
Quran owes 
tu Judaism. 


210 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. Via 


precation in testimony of her innocency; which if she do, 
she is free from punishment, though the marriage ought to 
be dissolved.1 | 

In most of the last-mentioned particulars the decisions 
of the Quran also agree with those of the Jews. By the 
law of Moses, adultery, whether in a married woman or a 
virgin betrothed, was punished with death; and the man 
who debauched them was to suffer the same punishment.” 
The penalty of simple fornication was scourging, the general 
punishment in cases where none is particularly appointed; 
and a betrothed bondmaid, if convicted of adultery, under- 
went the same punishment, being exempted from death 
because she was not free.2 By the same law no person 
was to be put to death on the oath of one witness;* and 
a man who slandered his wife was also to be chastised, 
that is, scourged, and fined one hundred shekels of silver.® 
The method of trying a woman suspected of adultery 
where evidence was wanting, by forcing her to drink the 
bitter water of jealousy,® though disused by the Jews long 
before the time of Muhammad,’ yet, by reason of the oath 
of cursing with which the woman was charged, and to 
which she was obliged to say “Amen,” bears great re- 
semblance to the expedient devised by the prophet on 
the like occasion. 

The institutions of Muhammad relating to the pollution 





1 Qurdn, c. 24, vv. 6-9. See the 
notes there. 


+ Levit. xx. 10; Deut. xxii. 22. 


maiden, because such a one and her 
accomplice were plainly ordered to 
be stoned (Deut. xxii. 23,24). But 


The kind of death to be inflicted on 
adulterers in common cases being 
not expressed, the Talmudists gene- 
rally suppose it to be strangling, 
which they think is designed wher- 
ever the phrase “shall be put to 
death,” or “shall die the death,” is 
used, as they imagine stoning is by 
the expression, “his blood shall be 
upon him ;” and hence it has been 
concluded by some that the woman 
taken in adultery mentioned in the 
Gospel (John viii.) was a betrothed 


the ancients seem to have been of a 
different opinion, and to have under- 
stood stoning to be the punishment 
of adulterers in general. Vide Sel- 
den} Ux. -Hebsil3 cet andee 2. 

3 Levit. xix. 20. 

= Deube ax 5: 
Numb. xxxv. 30. 

> Deut. xxii. 13-19. 

6 Numb. v. 11, &c. 

7 Vide Selden, ubi sup, 1. 3, ¢. 
15; and Leon. Modena, de’ Riti 
Hebraici, parte iv. c. 6. 


xvii. 6, and 


SEC, VI.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 211 


of women during their courses! the taking of slaves to 
wife,” and the prohibiting of marriage within certain 
degrees,? have likewise no small affinity with the insti- 
tutions of Moses;4# and the parallel might be carried 
_ farther in several other particulars. 

As to the prohibited degrees, it may be observed that Prohibited 
the pagan Arabs abstained from marrying their mothers,* he 
daughters, and aunts, both on the father’s side and on the 
mother’s, and held it a most scandalous thing to marry 
two sisters, or for a man to take his father’s wife ;® which 
last was, notwithstanding, too frequently practised,® and 
is expressly forbidden in the Quran.’ 

Before I leave the subject of marriages, it may be pro- peculiar 
per to take notice of some peculiar privileges in relation biwie- 
thereto which were granted by Gop to Muhammad, as he 7a 
gave out, exclusive of all other Muslims. One of them 
was that he might lawfully marry as many wives and 
have as many concubines as he pleased, without being 
confined to any particular number ;° and this he pretended 
to have been the privilege of the prophets before him. 
Another was that he might alter the turns of his wives, 
and take such of them to his bed as he thought fit, with- 
out being tied to that order and equality which others are 
obliged to observe? A third privilege was that no man 
might marry any of his wives,’ either such as he should 
divorce during his lifetime, or such as he should leave 
widows at his death; which last particular exactly agrees 


* They, however, did permit a son to inherit his deceased father’s 
widows, which custom Muhammad abolished. See Muir’s Life of 








Mahomet, vol. ii. p. 52, and vol. iil. p. 303. E. M. W. 
eVGQUTON aca e: Vie eads 6 Vide Poe. Spec., p. 337, &c. 
se bid, CA, Ve 24, ae. T QuYatyCs.4,:V.-20. 
3 Tbid., vs. 20-22. 8 Thid., c. 33, v. 49. See alsoc. 


4 See Levit. xv. 24, xviii. 19, and 66, and the notes there. 
xx. 18; Exod. xxi. 8-11; Deut. Wi Thids ¢. 33, v.51. See the 
xxi. 10-14; Levit. xviii. and xx. notes there. 

5 Abulfed., Hist. Gen. al Sharis- De Ubid eV. 53: 
tini, apud Poc. Spec., pp. 321, 338. 


Laws con- 
cerning in- 
heritance, 


212 THE’ PRELIMINARY, DISCOURSE. [SEC, VI. 


with what the Jewish doctors have determined concerning 
the wives of their princes; 1t being judged by them to be 
a thing very indecent, and for that reason unlawful, for 
another to marry either the divorced wife or the widow 
of a king;! and Muhammad, it seems, thought an equal 
respect, at least, due to the prophetic as to the regal dig- 
nity, and therefore ordered that his relicts should pass the 
remainder of their lives in perpetual widowhood. 

The laws of the Quran concerning inheritances are also 
in several respects conformable to those of the Jews, 
though principally designed to abolish certain practices 
of the pagan Arabs, who used to treat widows and orphan 
children with great injustice, frequently denying them 
any share in the inheritance of their fathers or their hus- 
bands, on pretence that the same ought to be distributed 
among those only who were able to bear arms, and dis- 
posing of the widows, even against their consent, as part 
of their husband’s possessions.2. To prevent such injuries 
for the future, Muhammad ordered that women should be 
respected, and orphans have no wrong done them; and in 
particular that women should not be taken against their 
wills, as by right of inheritance, but should themselves be 
entitled to a distributive part of what their parents, hus- 
bands, and near relations should leave behind them, in a 
certain proportion.’ 

The general rule to be observed in the distribution of 
the deceased’s estate is, that a male shall have twice as 
much as the female;* but to this rule there are some few 
exceptions ; a man’s parents, for example, and also his 
brothers and sisters, where they are entitled not to the 
whole, but a small part of the inheritance, being to have 
equal shares with one another in the distribution thereof, 





1 Mishna, tit. Sanhedr., c. 2, and notes there. Wide etiam Poc. Spec., 
Gemar. in eund. tit. Maimon, Ha- p. 337. 
lachoth Melachim, c. 2. Vide Sel- Quran, ¢. 4, vs..31,32: 
den, Ux.*Heb.; lL 1, c. 10.° ‘Pridy, 4 Tbid., vs. 10 and 175. Vide 
Life of Mah., p. 118. Chardin, Voy. de Perse, t. 2, p. 
4 See) G4, Vs, 21, &¢., and the. 293, 


SEC. VI.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 213 


without making any difference on account of sex. The 
‘particular proportions, in several cases, distinctly and 
sufficiently declare the intention of Muhammad, whose 
decisions, expressed in the Quran,? seem to be pretty 
equitable, preferring a man’s children first, and then his 
nearest relations. 

If a man dispose of any part of his estate by will, two Law con. 
Witnesses, at the least, are required to render the same wills, 
valid; and such witnesses ought to be of his own tribe, 
and of the Muhammadan religion, if such can be had. 
Though there be no express law to the contrary, yet the 
Muhammadan doctors reckon it very wrong for a man 
to give away any part of his substance from his family, 
unless it be in legacies for pious uses; and even in that 
case a man ought not to give all he has in charity, but 
only a reasonable part in proportion to his substance. On 
the other hand, though a man make no will, and bequeath 
nothing for charitable uses, yet the heirs are directed, on 
the distribution of the estate, if the value will permit, to 
_ bestow something on the poor, especially such as are of 
kin to the deceased and to the orphans. 

The first law, however, laid down by Muhammad touch- 
ing inheritances was not very equitable; for he declared 
that those who had fled with him from Makkah, and those 
who had received and assisted him at Madina, should be 
deemed the nearest of kin, and consequently heirs to one 
another, preferably to and in exclusion of their relations 
by blood; nay, though a man were a true believer, yet if 
he had not fled his country for the sake of religion and 
joined the prophet, he was to be looked on as a stranger ;° 
but this law continued not long in force, being quickly 
abrogated.® 

It must be observed that among the Muhammadans Children of 


concubines 


the children of their concubines or slaves are esteemed as legitimate. 


1 Qurén, c. 4, v.10. 3 Ibid.,c.5,v. 108, % Ibid, « 8, v. 73. 
Pe rbid, and: Viel 5:0 Lbluatte aunt, 7, SaThId., and C32. ¥..G. 


214 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. VI. 


equally legitimate with those of their legal and ingenuous 
wives, none being accounted bastards except such only as 
are born of common women and whose fathers are unknown. 
Law con- As to private contracts between man and man, the 
private con- Conscientious performance of them is frequently recom- 
i mended in the Quran.1 For the preventing of disputes, 
all contracts are directed to be made before witnesses,” 
and in case such contracts are not immediately executed, 
the same ought to be reduced into writing in the presence 
of two witnesses? at least, who ought to be Muslims and 
of the male sex; but if two men cannot be conveniently 
had, then one man and two women may suffice. The 
same method is also directed to be taken for the security 
of debts to be paid at a future day; and where a writer 
is not to be found, pledges are to be taken. Hence, if 
people trust one another without writing, witnesses, or 
pledge, the party on whom the demand is made is always 
acquitted if he denies the charge on oath, and swears 
that he owes the plaintiff nothing, unless the contrary be 
proved by very convincing circumstances.® 
Murder and Wilful murder, though forbidden by the Quran under 
ns Penalty the severest penalties to be inflicted in the next life, is 
yet, by the same book, allowed to be compounded for, on 
payment of a fine to the family of the deceased, and free- 
ing a Muslim from captivity; but it is in the election of 
the next of kin, or the revenger of blood, as he is called 
in the Pentateuch, either to accept of such satisfaction or 
to refuse it; for he may, if he pleases, insist on having 
the murderer delivered into his hands, or be put to death 
in such manner as he shall think fit.7 In this particular 





eeu RMLiC Saabs er 1s Gye 4 Qurén, c. 2, v. 282. 
282, &c. ° Vide Chardin, Voy. de Perse, 
adie e.02, V0 252: t. 2, p. 294, &c., and the notes to 


3 The same seems to have been Qurdn, c. 5, v. 106. 
required by the Jewish law, even 6 Qurdn,. ¢, 4 vee0lo2: 
in cases where life was not con- 7 Thid se. 2p 1785) Ch 1 yaves 5: 
cerned. See Deut. xix. 15; Matt. Vide Chardin, ubi sup. p. 299, 
xviii. 16; John viii. 17; 2 Cor. &c. 
Risley 


SEC. VI. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 215 


Muhammad has gone against the express letter of the 
_ Mosaic law, which declares that no satisfaction shall be 
taken for the life of a murderer;+ and he seems, in so 
doing, to have had respect to the customs of the Arabs 
in his time, who, being of a vindictive temper, used to 
revenge murder in too unmerciful a manner,’ whole tribes 
frequently engaging in bloody wars on such occasions, the 
natural consequence of their independency, and having no 
common judge or superior. 

If the Muhammadan laws seem leht in case of murder, manslaugh 
they may perhaps be deemed too rigorous in case of man- fenalty. 
slaughter, or the killing of a man undesignedly, which 
must be redeemed by fine (unless the next of kin shall 
think fit to remit it out of charity), and the freeing of a 
captive; but if a man be not able to do this, he is to fast 
two months together by way of penance.? The fine for a 
man’s blood is set in the Sunnat at a hundred camels,‘ and 
is to be distributed among the relations of the deceased 
according to the laws of inheritance; but_it must be 
observed that though the person slain be a Muslim, yet 
if he be of a nation or party at enmity, or not in con- 
federacy with those to whom the slayer belongs, he is not 
then bound to pay any fine at all, the redeeming a captive 
being, in such case, declared a sufficient penalty. I ima- 
gine that Muhammad, by these regulations, laid so heavy 
a punishment on involuntary manslaughter, not only to 
make people beware incurring the same, but also to 
humour, in some degree, the revengeful temper of his 
countrymen, which might be with difficulty, if at all, pre- 
vailed on to accept a lighter satisfaction. Among the 
Jews, who seem to have been no less addicted to revenge 
than their neighbours, the manslayer who had escaped to 
a city of refuge was obliged to keep himself within that 
city and to abide there till the death of the person who 











1 Numb. xxxv. 31. > Qurén, ¢. 4, v. 91. | 
2 This is particularly forbidden in 4 See the notes to c. 37. 
the Quran, ¢: 17, v. 35. ¥ Quran, ¢. 4, V. OI. 


Penalty for 
theft. 


Law of re- 
taliation. 


216 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC.’VI. 


was hich priest at the time the fact was committed, that 
his absence and time might cool the passion and mitigate 
the resentment of the friends of the deceased; but if he 
quitted his asylum before that time, the revenger of blood, 
if he found him, might kill him without guilt ;+ nor could 
any satisfaction be made for the slayer to return home 
before the prescribed time.” 

Theft is ordered to be punished by cutting off the 
offending part, the hand,? which, at first sight, seems just 
enough; but the law of Justinian, forbidding a thief to 
be maimed,* is more reasonable; because stealing being 
generally the effect of indigence, to cut off that limb 
would be to deprive him of the means of getting his 
livelihood in an honest manner.? The Sunnat forbids the 
inflicting of this punishment, unless the thing stolen be 
of a certain value. I have mentioned in another place 
the further penalties which those incur who continue to 
steal, and of those who rob or assault people on the road.® 

As to injuries done to men in their persons, the law of 
retaliation, which was ordained by the law of Moses,’ is 
also approved by the Quran ;° but this law, which seems 
to have been allowed by Muhammad to his Arabians for 
the same reasons as it was to the Jews, viz. to prevent 
particular revenges, to which both nations were extremely 
addicted? being neither strictly just nor practicable in 
many cases, is seldom put in execution, the punishment 
being generally turned into a mulct or fine, which is paid 
to the party injured.1? Or rather, Muhammad designed 
the words of the Quran relating thereto should be under- 





1 See Numb. xxxv. 26-28. 
2 Tbids, ivi 32: 

S.Quran, c. §,.V.142. 

4 Novell., 134, c. 13. 


5 Vide Pufendorf, De Jure Nat. 


et Gent, 1)5,.c. 3;.§ 26. 
6 See the notes toc. 5, v. 42. 


7 Exod. xxi. 24, &c.; Levit, xxiv. 


20; Deut, xix. 21. 
8 Cap. 5,.V« 49. 


9 Vide Grotium, De Jure Belli et 
Pacis, 1. 1, ce 2, § 8. 

10 Vide Chardin, t. 2, p. 299. The 
talio, likewise established among the 
old Romans by the laws of the twelve 
tables, was not to be inflicted unless 
the delinquent could not agree with 
the person injured. Vide A. Gell. 
Noct. Attic., 1. 20, c. 1, and Festum, 
in voce Talio. 


SECe vi. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 27 


stood in the same manner as those of the Pentateuch most 
probably ought to be—that is, not of an actual retaliation, 
according to the strict literal meaning, but of a retribution 
proportionable to the injury; for a criminal had not his 
eyes put out nor was a man mutilated according to the 
law of Moses, which, besides, condemned those who had 
wounded any person, where death did not ensue, to pay a 
fine only,’ the expression “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” 
being only a proverbial manner of speaking, the sense 
whereof amounts to this, that every one shall be punished 
by the judges according to the heinousness of the fact.” 

In injuries and crimes of an inferior nature, where no Penalty 
particular punishment is provided by the Quran, and staal 
where a pecuniary compensation will not do, the Muham- 
madans, according to the practice of the Jews in the like 
case,> have recourse to stripes or drubbing, the most 
common chastisement used in the East at this day, as well 
as formerly ; the cudgel, which, for its virtue and efficacy 
in keeping their people in good order and within the 
bounds of duty, they say came down from heaven, being 
the instrument wherewith the judge’s sentence is generally 
executed.* 

Notwithstanding the Quran is by the Muhammadans in Distinction 


: :__-7 betwee 
general regarded as the fundamental part of their civil civiland 


law, and the decisions of the Sunnat among the Turks and giiaw 
of the Imams among those of the Persian sect, with the 
explications of their several doctors, are usually followed 
in judicial determinations, yet the secular tribunals do not 
think themselves bound to observe the same in all cases, 
but frequently give judgment against those decisions, 
which are not always consonant to equity and reason; 
and therefore distinction is to be made between the written 


civil law, as administered in the ecclesiastical courts, and 





1 See Exod. xxi. 18, 19, and 22. 3 See Deut. xxv. 2, 3. 

2 Barbeyrac, in Grot., ubi supra. 4 Vide Grelot, Voy. de Constant., 
Vide Cleric. in Exod, xxi. 24, and p. 220, and Chardin, ubi supra, p. 
Deut. xix. 21. 302. 


The com- 
mand to 
war against 
infidels. 


Jewish 
doctrine 
concern- 
ing war in 
defence of 
religion. 


218 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. VI. 


the law of nature or common law (if I may so call it) 
which takés place in the secular courts, and has the 
executive power on its side.! 

Under the head of civil laws may be comprehended the 
injunction of warring against infidels, which is repeated 
in several passages of the Quran,” and declared to be of 
high merit in the sight of Gop, those who are slain fighting 
in defence of the faith being reckoned martyrs, and promised 
immediate admission into paradise. Hence this duty is 
greatly magnified by the Muhammadan divines, who call 
the sword the key of heaven and hell, and persuade their 
people that the least drop of blood spilt in the way of 
Gop, as it is called, is most acceptable unto him, and that 
the defending the territories of the Muslims for one night 
is more meritorious than a fast of two months;* on the 
other hand, desertion, or refusing to serve in these holy 
wars, or to contribute towards the carrying them on, if 
a man has ability, is accounted a most heinous crime, 
being frequently declaimed against in the Quran.® Such 
a doctrine, which Muhammad ventured not to teach till 
his circumstances enabled him to put it in practice,® it 
must be allowed, was well calculated for his purpose, and 
stood him and his successors in great stead: for what 
dangers and difficulties may not be despised and over- 
come by the courage and constancy which these senti- 
ments necessarily inspire? Nor have the Jews and 
Christians, how much soever they detest such principles 
in others, been ignorant of the force of enthusiastic heroism, 
or omitted to spirit up their respective partisans by the 
like arguments and promises. “Let him who has listed 
himself in defence of the law,” says Maimonides,’ “rely 








1 ‘Vide Chardin, ubi supra, p. 290, 4 Reland, De Jure Milit. Moham., 
&e. p. 5, &e. 
4 Caps 223.¢, 2, .¥, 190-1935", 4, e Vide coO%, CI, Vea ay aoe: 
V; 93, ,000.250. 951C..05 Cc. 477-and co. 8 See ante, p. 83. 
61, &e. 7 Halach. Melachim, c. 7. 
SNCBDAZ AV, 155 5° C:nsa.N, 1A2 hoe 
4737.01. 


a 


SEC. vI.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 219 


on him who is the hope of Israel, and the saviour thereof 
in the time of trouble;! and let him know that he fights 
for the profession of the divine unity: wherefore let him 
put his life in his hand,? and think neither of wife nor 
children, but banish the memory of them from his 
heart, having his mind wholly fixed on the war. For 
if he should begin to waver in his thoughts, he would 
not only confound himself, but sin against the law; nay, 
the blood of the whole people hangeth on his neck; for 
if they are discomfited, and he has not fought stoutly 
with all his might, it is equally the same as if he had shed 
the blood of them all; according to that saying, Let him 
return, lest his brethren’s heart fail as his own.” ? To the 
same purpose doth the Kabala accommodate that other 
passage, ‘ Cursed be he who doth the work of the Lorp 
negligently, and cursed be he who keepeth back his sword 
from blood. On the contrary, he who behaveth bravely 
in battle, to the utmost of his endeavour, without trem- 
bling, with intent to glorify Gop’s name, he ought to 
expect the victory with confidence, and to apprehend no 
danger or misfortune, but may be assured that he will 
have a house built him in Israel, appropriated to him and 
his children for ever; as it is said, Gop shall certainly 
make my lord a sure house, because he hath fought the 
battles of the Lorp, and his life shall be bound up in the 
bundle of life with the Lorp his Gop.” ® More passages 
of this kind might be produced from the Jewish writers, 
and the Christians come not far behind them. “We are 
desirous of knowing,” says one,° writing to the Franks 
engaged in the holy war, “the charity of you all; for 
that every one (which we speak not because we wish it) 
who shall faithfully lose his life in this warfare shall 
be by no means denied the kingdom of heaven.” And 








1 Jer. xiv. 8. Seip aln. = XV.5 25,20. 

2 Job xiii. 14. 6 Nicolaus, in Jure Canon., c. 
§ Deut, xx. 8. omnium 23, quest. 5. 

4 Jer. xlviii. 10. 


Opinions of 
Christian 
Crusaders 
on the same 
subject. 


220 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. VI. 


another gives the following exhortation: “Laying aside 
all fear and dread, endeavour to act effectually against 
the enemies of the holy faith and the adversaries of all 
religions: for the Almighty knoweth if any of you die, 
that he dieth for the truth of the faith, and the salvation 
of his country, and the defence of Christians; and there- 
fore he shall obtain of him a celestial reward.’! The 
Jews, indeed, had a divine commission, extensive and 
explicit enough, to attack, subdue, and destroy the ene- 
mies of their religion; and Muhammad pretended to have 
received one in favour of himself and his Muslims in 
terms equally plain and full;* and therefore it is no 
wonder that they should act consistently with their 
avowed principles ; but that Christians should teach and 
practice a doctrine so opposite to the temper and whole 
tenor of the Gospel seems very strange; and yet the 
latter have carried matters further, and shown a more 
violent spirit of intolerance than either of the former. 
Lawsof war The laws of war, according to the Muhammadans, have 
ima) been. already so exactly set down by the learned Reland,? 
that I need say very little of them. I shall, therefore, 
only observe some conformity between their military laws 
and those of the Jews. 
While Muhammadism was in its infancy, the opposers 


* Though Muhammad undoubtedly took Moses as his pattern, 
and supposed himself following in his footsteps when he gave the 
command to fight against the infidels, yet there is no comparison 
between them whatever so far as warring against infidels is con- 
cerned. The Israelites were commanded to slay the Canaanites as 
divinely ordained instruments of destruction; but Muhammad in- 
augurated war as a means of proselytism. The Israelite was not 
permitted to proselytise from among the Canaanites, Exod. xxiii. 
27-33; but Muslims are required to proselytise by sword-power. 

EK. M. W. 


1 Leo IV., op. cit., quest. 8. Mohammedanor, in the third vol. 
2 In his treatise De Jure Militari of his Dissertationes Miscellanem. 


SEC. VI. ] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 225 


thereof taken in battle were doomed to death without 
mercy; but this was judged too severe to be put in prac- 
tice when that religion came to be sufficiently established, 
and past the danger of being subverted by its enemies! 
The same sentence was pronounced not only against the 
seven Canaanitish nations,? whose possessions were given 
to the Israelites, and without whose destruction, in a 
manner, they could not have settled themselves in the 
country designed them, but against the Amalekites* and 
Midianites,t who had done their utmost to cut them 
off in their passage thither. When the Muhammadans 
declare war against a people of a different faith, they give 
them their choice of three offers, viz., either to embrace 
Muhammadism, in which case they become not only 
secure in their persons, families, and fortunes, but entitled 
to all the privileges of other Muslims; or to submit and 
pay tribute,> by doing which they are allowed to profess 
their own religion, provided it be not gross idolatry or 
against the moral law; or else to decide the quarrel by 
the sword, in which last case, if the Muslims prevail, the 
women and children which are made [captives become 
absolute slaves, and the men taken in battle may either 
be slain, unless they turn Muhammadans, or otherwise 
disposed of at the pleasure of the prince.6 Herewith 
agree the laws of war given to the Jews which relate to 
the nations not devoted to destruction ;7* and Joshua is 


* The difference seems to me to be very great. The Israelites 
might make peace with idolaters on condition of their becoming tri- 
butaries. The Muslims might not do so on any condition but that 
of conversion to Islam. With the Jew it was a case of policy—with 
the Mushm, of religion. E. M. W. 








1See Quran, c. 47, v. 5, and the 4 Numb. xxxi. 17. 


notes there; and c. 4, v. 89; ¢. 5, 5 See c. 9, and the notes there. 
Vv. 38. 6 See the notes to c. 47. 
* Deut. xx. 16-18. 7 Deut. xx. 10-15. 


3 Thid., c. xxv. 17-19. 


Law regu- 

lating the 

division of 
poils. 


222 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. VI. 


said to have sent even to the inhabitants of Canaan, 


before he entered the land, three schedules, in one of 
which was written, “Let him fly who will;” in the 
second, “ Let him surrender who will;” and in the third, 
“ Let him fight who will;”! though none of those nations 
made peace with the Israelites (except only the Gibeonites, 
who obtained terms of security by stratagem, after they 
had refused those offered by Joshua), “it being of the 
Lorp to harden their hearts, that he might destroy them 
utterly.” 2 

On the first considerable success of Muhammad in war, 
the dispute which happened among his followers in rela- 
tion to the dividing of the spoil rendered it necessary for 
him to make some regulation therein ; he therefore pre- 
tended to have received the divine commission to distri- 
bute the spoil among his soldiers at his own discretion,® 
reserving thereout, in the first place, one-fifth part * for 
the uses after mentioned; and, in consequence hereof, he 
took himself to be authorised, on extraordinary occasions, 


to distribute it as he thought fit, without observing an 


equality. Thus he did, for example, with the spoil of the 
tribe Hawazin taken at the battle of Hunain, which he 
bestowed by way of presents on those of Makkah only, 
passing by those of Madina, and highly distinguishing 
the principal Quraish, that he might ingratiate himself 











1Talmud Hierosol. apud Mai- Girgashites are not mentioned 


monid. Halach. Melachim, c. 6, § 
5. R. Bechai, ex lib. Siphre. Vide 
Selden, De Jure Nat. et Gent. Sec. 
Hebr., 1. 6, c. 13 and 14; and 
Schickardi, Jus Regium Heb., c. 5, 
Theor. 16. 

2 Josh. xi. 20. The Jews, how- 
ever, say that the Girgashites, be- 
lieving they could not escape the 
destruction with which they were 
threatened by God if they persisted 
in defending themselves, fled into 
Africa in great numbers, 
Talm. Hieros., ubi sup.) And this 
is assigned as the reason_why the 


(Vide 


among the other Canaanitish na- 
tions who assembled to fight against 
Joshua (Josh. ix. 1), and who were 
doomed to utter extirpation (Deut. 
xx. 17). But it is observable that 
the Girgashites are not omitted by 
the Septuagint in either of those 
texts, and that their name appears 
in the latter of them in the Sama- 
ritan Pentateuch: they are also 
joined with the other Canaanites as 
having fought against Israel in 
Josh. xxiv. II. 

3 Quran, c. 8. 

4 Thid. 


SEC. VI.] | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 223 


with them after he had become master of their city.! 
He was also allowed in the expedition against those 
of al Nadhir to take the whole booty to himself, and 
to dispose thereof as he pleased, because no horses or 
camels were made use of in that expedition,? but the 
whole army went on foot; and this became thence- 
forward a law ;? the reason of which seems to be, that 
the spoil taken by a party consisting of infantry only 
should be considered as the more immediate gift of Gon, 
and therefore properly left to the disposition of his 
apostle. According to the Jews, the spoil ought to be 
divided into two equal parts, one to be shared among the 
captors, and the other to be taken by the prince,’ and by 
him employed for his own support and the use of the 
public. Moses, it is true, divided one-half of the plunder 
of the Midianites among those who went to battle, and 
the other half among all the congregation ;° but this, they 
say, being a peculiar case, and done by the express order 
of Gop himself, must not be looked on asa precedent.’ It 
should seem, however, from the words of Joshua to the 
two tribes and a half, when he sent them home into 
Gilead after the conquest and division of the land of 
_ Canaan, that they were to divide the spoil of their enemies 
with their brethren after their return;® and the half 
which was in succeeding times taken by the king was in 
all probability taken by him as head of the community, 
and representing the whole body. It is remarkable that 
the dispute among Muhammad’s men about sharing the 
booty at Badr® arose on the same occasion as did that 
among David’s soldiers in relation to the spoils recovered 











1 Abulfed. in Vit. Moh., p. 118, c¢. 2. Vide Selden, De Jure Nat. et 
&c. Vide Qurdn, c. 9, and the Gent. Sec. Heb., lib. 6, c. 16. 


notes there. PIN Win bees 2, 

2 Quran, c. 59, v. 6, see the notes 7 Vide Maim. Halach. Melach., 
there. G. 4: 

3 Vide Abulfed., ubi sup., p. 91. SJ deh. Xi) 5 

4 Vide Qurdn, c. 59, v. 6. 9 See Qurdn, c. 8, and the notes 


> Gemar. Baby]. ad. tit, Sanhedr., there. 


224 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VI. 


from the Amalekites,! those who had been in the action 
insisting that they who tarried by the stuff should have 
no part of the spoil; and that the same decision was given 
in both cases, which became a law for the future, to wit, 
that they should part alike. : 

God’s fifth The fifth part directed by the Quran to be taken out of 

Biige te bethe spoil before it be divided among the captors is declared 

ee to belong to Gop, and to the apostle and his kindred, and 
the orphans, and the poor, and the traveller:? which 
words are variously understood. Al Shaffi was of opinion 
that the whole ought to be divided into five parts; the 
first, which he called Gov’s part, to go to the treasury, 
and be employed in building and repairing fortresses, 
bridges, and other public works, and in paying salaries to 
magistrates, civil officers, professors of learning, ministers 
of public worship, &c.; the second part to be distributed 
among the kindred of Muhammad, that is, the descendants 
of his grandfather Hasham, and of his great-uncle al 
Mutallib,? as well the rich as the poor, the children as the 
adult, the women as the men, observing only to give a 
female but half the share of a male; the third part to go 
to the orphans; the fourth part to the poor, who have not 
wherewithal to maintain themselves the year round, and 
are not able to get their livelihood; and the fifth part to 
travellers who are in want on the road, notwithstanding 
they may be rich men in their own country. According 
to Malik Ibn Ans, the whole is at the disposition of the 
Imdm or prince, who may distribute the same at his own 
discretion, where he sees most need.5 Abu’ Aliya went 
according to the letter of the Quran, and declared his 
opinion to be that the whole should be divided into six 
parts, and that Gop’s part should be applied to the service 
of the Kaabah; while others supposed Gop’s part and the 





1 Sam. xxx. 21-25. 4 Al Baid. Vide Reland, De Jure 
* Quran, 6.0), Milit. Moham., p. 42, &c. 
3 Note, al Shdfii himself was de- ° Idem. 

scended from this latter. 


SEC. VI.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 225 


apostle’s to be one and the same.’ Abu Hantfa thought 
that the share of Muhammad and his kindred sank at that 
prophet’s death, since which the whole ought to be divided ° 
among the orphans, the poor, and the traveller.2 Some 
insist that the kindred of Muhammad entitled to a share 
of the spoils are the posterity of Hasham only; but those 
who think the descendants of his brother al Mutallib 
have also a right to a distributive part, allege a tradition 
in their favour purporting that Muhammad himself divided 
the share belonging to his relations among both families; 
and when Othman Ibn Assan and Jubair Ibn Matam 
(who were descended from Abd-as-shams and Naufal, the 
other brothers of Hasham) told him that though they 
disputed not the preference of the Hashamites, they could 
not help taking it ill to see such difference made between 
the family of al Mutallib and themselves, who were 
related to him in an equal degree, and yet had no part in 
the distribution, the prophet rephed that the descendants 
of al Mutallib had forsaken him neither in the time of 
ignorance nor since the revelation of Islam, and joined 
his fingers together in token of the strict union between 
them and the Hashamites.? Some exclude none of the 
tribe of Quraish from receiving a part in the division of 
the spoil, and make no distinction between the poor and 
the rich; though, according to the more reasonable opinion, 
such of them as are poor only are intended by the text 
of the Quran, as is agreed in the case of the stranger; 
and others go so far as to assert that the whole fifth 
commanded to be reserved belongs to them only, and that 
the orphans, and the poor, and the traveller, are to be 
understood of such as are of that tribe* It must be 
observed that immovable possessions, as lands, &ec., taken 
in war, are subject to the same laws as the movable, 
excepting only that the fifth part of the former is not 


1 Reland, De Jure Milit. Moham., p. 42, &c. 
2 Idem. 3 Idem. 4 Idem. 


226 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  [SEC. VI. 


actually divided, but the income and profits thereof, or of 
the price thereof, if sold, are applied to public and pious 
uses, and distributed once a year, and that the prince may 
either take the fifth part of the land itself, or the fifth 
part of the income and produce of the whole, as he shall 
make his election. 


G2o74y) 


SECTION VII. 


OF THE MONTHS COMMANDED BY THE QURAN TO BE KEPT SACRED, 
AND OF THE SETTING APART OF FRIDAY FOR THE ESPECIAL 
SERVICE OF GOD. 


IT was a custom among the ancient Arabs to observe The four 
four months in the year as sacred, during which they mGnele 
held it unlawful to wage war, and took off the heads from 
their spears, ceasing from incursions and other hostili- 
ties. During these months whoever was in fear of his 
enemy lived in full security, so that if a man met the mur- 
derer of his father or his brother, he durst not offer him 
any violence! “A great argument,” says a learned writer, 
“of a humane disposition in that nation, who being, by 
reason of the independent governments of their several 
tribes, and for the preservation of their just rights, exposed 
to frequent quarrels with one another, had yet learned to 
cool their inflamed breasts with moderation, and restrain 
the rage of war by stated times of truce.” 2 

This institution obtained among all the Arabian tribes, 
except only those of Tay and Khuzaah, and some of the 
descendants of al Harith Ibn Kaab (who distinguished no 
time or place as sacred),? and was so religiously observed, 
that there are but few instances in history (four, say some, 
six, say others *) of its having been transgressed ; the wars 
which were carried on without regard thereto being there- 





1 Al Kazwini, apud Golium in 2 Golius, ubi supra, p. 5. 
notis ad Alfrag., p. 4, &c. Al Shah- 3 Al Shahristdni, ubi supra. See 
risténi, apud Poc. Spec., p. 311. ante, p. 190. 
Al Jawhari, al Firauzab. 4 Al Mughultai. 


Their' 
observance 
among 
Muslims. 


\ 


228 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  [SEC. VIL. 


fore termed impious. One of those instances was in the 
war between the tribes of Quraish and Qais Ailan, wherein 
Muhammad himself served under his uncles, being then 
fourteen,! or, as others say, twenty ? years old. 

The months which the Arabs held sacred were al Mu- 
harram, Rajab, Dhu’l Qaada, and Dhu'l Hajja; the first, the 
seventh, the eleventh, and the twelfth in the year.2 Dhu' 
Hajja being the month wherein they performed the pil- 
erimage to Makkah, not only that month, but also the 
preceding and the following, were for that reason kept 
inviolable, that every one might safely and without 
interruption pass and repass to and from the festival.t 
Rajab is said to have been more strictly observed than 
any of the other three,® probably because in that month 
the pagan Arabs used to fast;® Ramadhan, which was 
afterwards set apart by Muhammad for that purpose, 
being in the time of ignorance dedicated to drinking in 
excess.7 By reason of the profound peace and security 
enjoyed in this month, one part of the provisions brought 
by the caravans of purveyors annually set out by the 
Quraish for the supply of Makkah,’ was distributed 
among the people; the other part being, for the lke 
reason, distributed at the pilerimage.® 

The observance of the aforesaid months seemed so 
reasonable to Muhammad, that it met with his approba- 





1 Abulfeda, Vit. Moh., p. 11. contiguous? The two learned pro- 


2 Al Kuddai, al Firauz. apud Poc. 
Spec., p. 174. Al Mughultai men- 
tions both opinions. 

3 Mr. Bayle (Dict. Hist. et Crit., 
art. la Mecque, Rem. IF.) accuses 
Dr. Prideaux of an inconsistency for 
saying inone place (Life of Mahomet, 
p. 64) that these sacred months were 
the first, the seventh, the eleventh, 
and the twelfth, and intimating in 
another place (ibid., p. 89) that three 
of them were contiguous. But this 
must be mere absence of mind in 
Mr. Bayle ; for are not the eleventh, 


the twelfth, and the first months 


fessors, Golius and Reland, have also 
made a small slip in speaking of 
these sacred months, which, they 
tell us are the two first and the two 
last in the year. Vide Golii, Lex 
Arab., col. 601, and Reland, De Jure 
Milit. Mohammedanor, p. 5. 

4 Vide Gol. in Alfrag., p. 9. 

> Vide ibid., p. 6. 

6 Al Makizi, apud Poc., ubi supra. 

7 Idem, and Auctor Neshk al 
Ashar, ibid. : 

8 See Qurén, c. 106. 

9 Al Edrisi, apud Poc. Spec., p. 
r27. 


SEC. VII. | THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 229 


tion ; and the same is accordingly confirmed and enforced 
by several passages of the Quran,! which forbid war to be 
waged during those months against such as acknowledge 
them to be sacred, but grant, at the same time, full per- 
mission to attack those who make no such distinction, in 
the sacred months as well as in the profane.? 

One practice, however, of the pagan Arabs, in relation Regulations 
to these sacred months, Muhammad thought proper to Stunawan, 
reform; for some of them, weary of sitting quiet for three 
months together, and eager to make their accustomed 
incursions for plunder, used, by way of expedient, when- 
ever it suited their inclinations or conveniency, to put off 
the observing of al Muharram to the following month, 
Safar? thereby avoiding to keep the former, which they 
supposed it lawful for them to profane, provided they 
sanctified another month in heu of it, and gave public 
notice thereof at the preceding pilgrimage, This transfer- 
ring the observation of a sacred month to a profane month 
is what is truly meant by the Arabic word al Nasi, and 
is absolutely condemned and declared to be an impious 
innovation in a passage of the Quran * which Dr, Prideaux,® 
misled by Golius,® imagines to relate to the prolonging of 
the year by adding an intercalary month thereto. It is 
true the Arabs, who imitated the Jews in their manner of 
computing by lunar years, had also learned their method 
of reducing them to solar years by intercalating a month 
sometimes in the third and sometimes in the second year,’ 
by which means they fixed the pilgrimage of Makkah 
(contrary to the original institution) to a certain season of 
the year, viz., to autumn, as most convenient for the pil- 
orims, by reason of the temperateness of the weather and 
the plenty of provisions ;® and it is also true that Mu- 





4 oi te 52 Va TOS Gass Wins > Life of Mahomet, p. 66. 

c. 5, v. 98, &e. 6 In Alfrag., p. 12. 

_ Cap. 9; c. 2, Vv. I94. 7 See Prid., Preface to the first 
3 See the notes to c. 9, ubi sup. vol. of his Connect. A) Oy OL 

4 Cap. 9, ibid. 8 Vide Gol., ubi supra. 


230 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. VII. 


hammad forbade such intercalation by a passage in the 
same chapter of the Quran; but then it is not the passage 
above mentioned, which prohibits a different thing, but 
one a little before it, wherein the number of months in 
the year, according to the ordinance of GoD, is declared to 
be twelve ;! whereas, if the intercalation of a month were ~ 
allowed, every third or second year would consist of 
thirteen, contrary to GoD’s appointment. 
Fridayin- § The setting apart of one day in the week for the more 
ety peculiar attendance on Gop’s worship, so strictly required 
by the Jewish and Christian religions, appeared to Mu- 
hammad to be so proper an institution, that he could not 
but imitate the professors thereof in that particular; 
though, for the sake of distinction, he might think himself 
obliged to order his followers to observe a different day 
from either. Several reasons are given why the sixth 
day of the week was pitched on for this purpose;? but 
Muhammad seems to have preferred that day chiefly 
because it was the day on which the people used to be 
assembled long before his time,? though such assemblies 
were had, perhaps, rather on a civil than a religious 
account. However it be, the Muhammadan writers be- 
stow very extraordinary encomiums on this day, calling 
it the prince of days, and the most excellent day on which 
the sun rises;* pretending also that it will be the day 
whereon the last judgment will be solemnised ;* and they 
esteem it a peculiar honour to Islam that Gop has been 
pleased to appoint this day to be the feast-day of the 
Muslims, and granted them the advantage of having first 
observed it.® 
Though the Muhammadans do not think themselves 
bound to keep their day of public worship so holy as the 





1 Quran, c. 9.» See also c. 2, v. 4 Ibn al Athir et al Ghazdli, apud 
194. Poc. Spec., p. 317. 

* See c. 63, and the notes there. ® Vide ibid. 

3 Al Baidhdwi. 6 Al Ghazéli, ibid. 


SEC. vil.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. Za 


_ Jews and Christians are certainly obliged to keep theirs, 
there being a permission, as is generally supposed, in the 
Quran,’ allowing them to return to their employments or 
diversion after divine service is over; yet the more devout 
disapprove the applying of any part of that day to worldly 
affairs, and require it to be wholly dedicated to the busi- 
ness of the life to come.” 

Since I have mentioned the Muhammadan weekly feast, The two 
I beg leave just to take notice of their two Bairams,’ or civale, 
principal annual feasts. The first of them is called in oe 
Arabic, Id ul Fitr, ie., The feast of breaking the fast, and 
begins the first of Shawwal, immediately succeeding the 
fast of Ramadhan; and the other is called fd ul Qurbdn, 
or [d ul Adhd, i.e., The feast of the sacrifice, and begins on 
the tenth of Dhu’l Hajja, when the victims are slain at the 
pilgrimage of Makkah* The former of these feasts is 
properly the lesser Bairam, and the latter the greater 
Bairam ;° but the vulgar, and most authors who have 
written of the Muhammadan affairs,° exchange the epithets, 
and call that which follows Ramadhan the greater Bairam, 
because it is observed in an extraordinary manner, and 
kept for three days together at Constantinople and in 
other parts of Turkey, and in Persia for five or six days, 
by the common people, at least, with great demonstrations 
of public joy, to make themselves amends, as it were, for 
the mortification of the preceding month ;7 whereas, the 
feast of sacrifices, though it be also kept for three days, 
and the first of them be the most solemn day of the 
pilgrimage, the principal act of devotion among the Mu- 
hammadans is taken much less notice of by the generality 


1 Cap. 63, ubi supra. p. 109, and D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., 

2 Al Ghazdli, ubi supra, p. 318. art. Bairdm. 

3 The word Bairdm is Turkish, 6 Hyde, in notis ad Bobov., p. 
and properly signifies a feast-day or 16; Chardin, Voy. de Perse, tom. 
holiday. 2, p- 450; Ricaut’s State of the 

4 See c. 9, and ante, Sect. IV., Ottoman Empire, 1. 2, c. 24, &e. 

p. 94. 7 Vide Chardin and Ricaut, ubi 
5 Vide Reland, De Relig. Moh., supra. 


23 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  [SEc. VU. 


of people, who are not struck therewith, because the 
ceremonies with which the same is observed are performed 
at Makkah, the only scene of that solemnity.* 


* In India this feast is popularly known as the Bagr Ld, or Feast 
of the Cow, and is celebrated with great ceremony by all Muslims. - 
A goat or a sheep is sacrificed, and its flesh eaten by the family 
making the offering. Fora clear account of the manner of celebrating 
the various feasts of the Muslims, the reader is referred to the excel- 
lent work of the Rev. Edward Sell, entitled The Faith of Islam, 
chapter vi. E. M. W. 


( 233.) 


SECTION VIII. 


OF THE PRINCIPAL SECTS AMONG THE MUHAMMADANS, AND OF 
THOSHE WHO HAVE PRETENDED TO PROPHECY AMONG THE 
ARABS IN OR SINCE THE TIME OF MUHAMMAD. 


BEFORE we take a view of the sects of the Muhammadans, 
it will be necessary to say something of the two sciences 
by which all disputed questions among them are deter- 
mined, viz., their Scholastic and Practical Divinity. 

Their scholastic divinity is a mongrel science, consist- 
ing of logical, metaphysical, theological, and philosophical 
disquisitions, and built on principles and methods of rea- 
soning very different from what are used by those. who 
pass among the Muhammadans themselves for the sounder 
divines or more able philosophers, and, therefore, in the 
partition of the sciences this is generally left out, as un- 
worthy a place among them.?, The learned Maimonides? 
has laboured to expose the principles and systems of the 
scholastic divines, as frequently repugnant to the nature 
of the world and the order of the creation, and intolerably 
absurd. 

This art of handling religious disputes was not known 
in the infancy of Muhammadanism, but was brought in 
when sects sprang up, and articles of religion began to be 
called in question, and was at first made use of to defend 
the truth of those articles against innovators ;* and while 





1 Poe. Spec., p. 196. 3 More Nevoch., 1. 1, c 71 and 
2 Apud Ibn Sina, in Libello de 


EY 
Divisione Scientiar., et Nasiru’ddin 4 Al Ghazdli, apud Poc. Spec., ubi 


al Tasi, in Prefat. ad Ethic. . supra, 


Muhamma- 
dan scholas- 
ticism. 


Its origin 
and use. 


Muslim 
juris- 
prudence. 


234 THE PRELIMINARY: DISCOURSE. — [SEC. VIII. 


it keeps within those bounds is allowed to be a commend- 
able study, being necessary for the defence of the faith; 
but when it proceeds farther, out of an itch of disputation, 
it is judged worthy of censure. 

This is the opinion of al Ghazali,t who observes a 
medium between those who have too high a value for this 
science, and those who absolutely reject it. Among the 
latter was al Shafti, who declared that, in his judgment, 
if any man employed his time that way, he deserved to 
be fixed to a stake and carried about through all the Arab 
tribes, with the following proclamation to be made before 
him: “This is the reward of him who, leaving the Quran 
and the Sunnat, applied himself to the study of scholastic 
divinity.”? Al Ghazali, on the other hand, thinks that 
as it was introduced by the invasion of heresies, it is 
necessary to be retained in order to quell them; but then 
in the person who studies this science he requires three 
things—dilgence, acuteness of judgment, and probity of 
manners; and is by no means for suffering the same to 
be publicly explained. This science, therefore, among 
the Muhammadans, is the art of controversy, by which 
they discuss points of faith concerning the essence and 
attributes of Gop, and the conditions of all possible things, 
either in respect to their creation or final restoration, 
according to the rules of the religion of Islam.* . 

The other science is practical divinity or jurisprudence, 
and is the knowledge of the decisions of the law which 
regard practice, gathered from distinct proofs. 

Al Ghazali declares that he had much the same opinion 
of this science as of the former, its original being owing to 
the corruption of religion and morality; and therefore 
judged both sciences to be necessary, not in themselves, 
but by accident only, to curb the irregular imaginations 
and passions of mankind (as guards become necessary in 





1 Apud Poc. Spec., ubi supra. 3 Thid. 
oVibiG. paioys 4 Tbn al Kossd, apud eund., ibid., 
p. 198. 


SEC. vill.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 235 


the highways by reason of robbers), the end of the first 
being the suppression of heresies, and of the other the 
decision of legal controversies, for the quiet and peaceable 
living of mankind in this world, and for the preserving 
the rule by which the magistrate may prevent one man 
from injuring another, by declaring what is lawful and 
what is unlawful, by determining the satisfaction to be 
given or punishment to be inflicted, and by regulating 
other outward actions; and not only so, but to decide of 
religion itself, and its conditions, so far as relates to the 
profession made by the mouth, it not being the business 
of the civilian to inquire into the heart:! the depravity of 
men’s manners, however, has made this knowledge of the 
laws so very requisite, that it is usually called the Science, 
by way of excellence, nor is any man reckoned learned 
who has not applied himself thereto.? 

The points of faith subject to the examination and points of 
discussion of the scholastic divines are reduced to four to acu 
general heads, which they call the four bases, or great “““" 
fundamental articles.’ 

The first basis relates to the attributes of Gop and his 
unity consistent therewith. Under this head are compre- 
hended the questions concerning the eternal attributes, 
which are asserted by some and denied by others; and 
also the explication of the essential attributes and attri- 
butes of action, what is proper for Gop to do, and what 
may be affirmed of him, and what it is impossible for him 
to do. These things are controverted between the Asha- 
rians, the Karamians, the Mujassamians or Corporalists, 
and the Mutazilites,* 

The second basis regards predestination, and the justice 
thereof, which comprises the questions concerning GoD’s 
purpose and decree, man’s compulsion or necessity to act, 


1 Al Ghazdli, Poc. Spec., pp. 3 Vide Abulfarag, Hist. Dynast., 
198-204. . 166. 
2 Vide ibid., p. 204. 4 Al Shahristéni, apud Poc. Spec., 
ubi supra, p. 204, &c. 


The sects of 
Islam. 


236 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VIII. 


and his co-operation in producing actions by which he 
may gain to himself good or evil, and also those which 
concern GOD’s willing good and evil, and what things are 
subject to his power, and what to his knowledge; some 
maintaining the affirmative, and others the negative. 
These points are disputed among the Qadrtians, the Naj- — 
rians, the Jabrians, the Asharians, and the Kardamians.} 

The third basis concerns the promises and threats, the 
precise acceptation of names used in divinity, and the 
divine decisions, and comprehends questions relating to 
faith, repentance, promises, threats, forbearance, infidelity, 
and error. The controversies under this head are on foot 
between the Murjians, the Waidians, the Mutazilites, the 
Ashartians, and the Karamians.? 

The fourth basis regards history and reason, that is, the 
just weight they ought to have in matters belonging to 
faith and religion, and also the mission of the prophets 
and the office of the Imam or chief pontiff. Under this 
head are comprised all casuistical questions relating to 
the moral beauty or turpitude of actions; inquiring 
whether things are allowed or forbidden by reason of 
their own nature or by the positive law; and also ques- 
tions concerning the preference of actions, the favour or 
grace of GoD, the innocence which ought to attend the 
prophetical office, and the conditions requisite in the 
office of Imam; some asserting it depends on right of | 
succession, others on the consent of the faithful; and 
also the method of transferring it with the former, and of 
confirming it with the latter. These matters are the sub- 
jects of dispute between the Shiahs, the Mutazilites, the 
Kardmians, and the Asharians.® 

The different sects of Muhammadans may be distin- 
ouished into two sorts—those generally esteemed orthodox, 
and those which are esteemed heretical. 


1 Al Shahristdni, apud Poc., ubi sup., p. 205. 2 Idem, ibid., p. 206. 
3 Idem, ibid. : 


SEC. vill.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 237 


The former, by a general name, are called Sunnis or 
Traditionists, because they acknowledge the authority of 
the Sunnat, or collection of moral traditions of the sayings 
and actions of their prophet, which is a sort of supple- 
ment to the Quran, directing the observance of several 
things omitted in that book, and in name as well as 
design answering to the Mishna of the Jews.? 

The Sunnis are subdivided into four chief sects, which, pivisions of 
notwithstanding some differences as to legal conclusions fre tcorehe 
in their interpretation of the Qurdn and matters of prac- eee 
tice, are generally acknowledged to be orthodox in radi- 
cals or matters of faith and capable of salvation, and 
have each of them their several stations or oratories in 
the temple of Makkah?* The founders of these sects are 
looked upon as the great masters of jurisprudence, and 
are said to have been men of great devotion and self- 
denial, well versed in the knowledge of those things 
which belong to the next life and to man’s right conduct 
here, and directing all their knowledge to the glory of 
Gop. This is al Ghazali’s encomium of them, who thinks 
it derogatory to their honour that their names should be 
used by those who, neglecting to imitate the other virtues 
which make up their character, apply themselves only to 
attain their skill and follow their opinions in matters of 
legal practice.® 

The first of the four orthodox sects is that of the 9ne Hant. 
Hanifites, so named from their founder, Abu Hanifa al ae 
Numan Ibn Thabit, who was born at Kufa in the 80th 
year of the Hijra, and died in the 150th, according to 
the more preferable opinion as to the time. He ended 
his life in prison at Baghdad, where he had been confined 
because he refused to be made qddi or judge on which 











1 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 298. Prid., 3 Vide Poe. Spec., p. 293. 
Life of Mahomet, p. 51, &c. Re- 4 Tbn Khallikdn. 
land, De Rel. Moh., p. 68, &. Mil- ° This was the true cause of his 
lium, De Mohammedismo ante Moh., imprisonment and death, and not 
pp. 368, 369. his refusing to subscribe to the 
2 See ante, p. 205. opinion of absolute predestination, 


Malik Ibn 
Ans and his 
sect. 


238 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VIII. 


account he was very hardly dealt with by his superiors, 
yet could not be prevailed on, either by threats or ill- 
treatment, to undertake the charge, “ choosing rather to 
be punished by them than by God,” says al Ghazah, who 
adds, that when he excused himself from accepting the 
office by alleging that he was unfit for it, being asked the 
reason, he replied, “ If I speak the truth, I am unfit; but — 
if I tell a lie, a liar is not fit to be a judge.” Itis said 
that he read the Quran in the prison where he died no 
less than 7000 times. 

The Hantfites are called by an Arabian writer? the 
followers of reason, and those of the three other sects, 
followers of tradition, the former being principally guided 
by their own judgment in their decisions, and the latter 
adhering more tenaciously to the traditions of Muhammad. 

The sect of Abu Hanifa heretofore obtained chiefly in 
Irak,? but now generally prevails among the Turks and 
Tartars: his doctrine was brought into great credit by 
Abu Yusuf, chief-justice under the Khalifahs al Hadi and 
Harun al Rashid.* 

The second orthodox sect is that of Malik Ibn Ans, who 
was born at Madina in the year of the Hijra go, 93, 94,° 
or o5,° and/‘died there in 177,’,178)) or 170% (formes 
much do authors differ). This doctor is said to have paid 
great regard to the traditions of Muhammad? In his 
last illness, a friend going to visit him, found him in tears, 
and asking him the reason of it, he answered, “ How 
should I not weep? and who has more reason to weep 


as D’Herbelot writes (Bibl. Orient., 3 Tdem. 
p. 21), misled by the dubious accep- * Vide D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., pp. 
tation of the word ‘‘qadd,” which 21 and 22. 


signifies not only God’s decree in > Albufeda. 
particular, but also the giving sen- 6 Tbn Khallikgn. 
tence as a judge in general; nor 7 Idem. 


could Abu Hanifa have been rec- 8 Abulfeda. 

koned orthodox had he denied one of 9 Elmacinus, p. 114. 

the principal articles of faith. 10 Tbn Khallikén. Vide Poe. Spec., 
1 Poc. Spec. pp. 297, 298. p. 294. 
2 Al Sharistdni, ibid. 


. 


SEC. VIIL] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 239 


than I? Would to Gop that for every question decided 
by me according to my own opinion I had received so 
many stripes! then would my accounts be easier. Would 
to Gop I had never given any decision of my own!”! Al 
Ghazali thinks it a sufficient proof of Malik’s directing his 
knowledge to the glory of Gop, that being once asked his 
opinion as to forty-eight questions, his answer to thirty- 
two of them was, that he did not know; it being no easy 
matter for one who has any other view than Gop’s glory 
to make so frank a confession of his ignorance.” 

The doctrine of Malik is chiefly followed in Barbary 
and other parts of Africa. 

The author of the third orthodox sect was Muhammad muhammaa 
Ibn Idris al Shaffi, born either at Gaza or Ascalon, in Shafi, 
Palestine, in the year of the Hijra 150, the same day (as 
some will have it) that Abu Hanifa died, and was carried 
to Makkah at two years of age, and there educated. He 
died in 204,* in Egypt, whither he went about five years 
before. This doctor is celebrated for his excellency in 
all parts of learning, and was much esteemed by Ibn 
Hanbal, his contemporary, who used to say that “he was 
as the sun to the world, and as health to the body.” Ibn 
Hanbal, however, had so ill an opinion of al Shaffi at first, 
that he forbade his scholars to go near him; but some 
time after one of them, meeting his master trudging on 
foot after al Shafii, who rode on a mule, asked him how 
it came about that he forbade them to follow him, 
and did it himself; to which Ibn Hanbal replied, “ Hold 
thy peace; if thou but attend his mule thou wilt profit 
thereby.” ® 

Al Shafii is said to have been the first who discoursed 
of jurisprudence, and reduced that science into a method ;7 
one wittily saying, that the relators of the traditions of 


1 Tbn Khallikdn, Poe. Spec., apud 4 Yet Abulfeda says he lived 
eund. ibid. fifty-eight years. 

2 Al Ghazéli, ibid. 5 Ibn Khallikdn. 

3 Ibn Khallikdn. 6 Idem, 7 Idem. 


Ahmad Ibn 
Hanbal. 


ZED THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VIII. 


Muhammad were asleep till al Shafii came and waked 
them He was a great enemy to the scholastic divines, 
as has been already observed? Al Ghazali tells us that 
al Shaffi used to divide the night into three parts, one for 
study, another for prayer, and the third for sleep. It is 
also related of him that he never so much as once swore 
by Gop, either to confirm a truth or to affirm a falsehood ; 
and that being once asked his opinion, he remained silent 
for some time, and when the reason of his silence was 
demanded, he answered, “I am considering first whether 
it be better to speak or to hold my tongue.” The following 
saying is also recorded of him, viz., “ Whoever pretends to 
love the world and its Creator at the same time is a liar.”? 
The followers of this doctor are from him called Shafiites, 
and were formerly spread into Mawara’lnahr and other 
parts eastward, but are now chiefly of Arabia and Persia. 
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, the founder of the fourth sect, was 
born in the year of the Hijra 164; but as to the place of 
his birth there are two traditions: some say he was born 
at Miru in Khurasan, of which city his parents were, and 
that his mother brought him from thence to Baghdad 
at her breast; while others assure us that she was with 
child of him when she came to Baghdad, and that he was 
born there. Ibn Hanbal in process of time attained a 
sreat reputation on account of his virtue and knowledge; 


being so well versed in the traditions of Muhammad in 


particular, that it is said he could repeat no less than a 
million of them.® He was very intimate with al Shaffi, from 
whom he received most of his traditionary knowledge, being 
his constant attendant till his departure for Egypt. Re- 
fusing to acknowledge the Quran to be created,’ he was, 
by order of the Khalifah al Mutasim, severely scourged 
and imprisoned. Ibn Hanbal died at Baghdad, in the 





1 Al Zéfardni, apud Poe. Spec., > Ibn Khallikén. 


p. 296. 6 Tdem. 
2 See ante, p. 118. 7 See ante, Sect. III., p. 111, &e. 
3 Vide Poe. Spec., pp. 295-297. 8 Ibn Khallikén, Abulfarag, Hist. 


4 Tbn Khallikdn. Dyn., p. 252, &e. 


SaeaVilt.) © THE PRELIMINARY? DISCOURSE; 241 


year 241, and was followed to his grave by eight hundred 
thousand men and sixty thousand women. It is related, 
as something very extraordinary, if not miraculous, that 
on the day of his death no less than twenty thousand 
Christians, Jews, and Magians embraced the Muham- 
madan faith! This sect increased so fast and became so 
powerful and bold, that in the year 323, in the Khalifat 
of al Radi, they raised a great commotion in Baghdad, 
entering people’s houses, and spilling their wine, if they 
found any, and beating the singing-women they met with, 
and breaking their instruments; and a severe edict was 
published against them before they could be reduced to 
their duty ;? but the Hanbalites at present are not very 
numerous, few of them being to be met with out of the 
limits of Arabia. 
The heretical sects among the Muhammadans are those Heretical 


F aes ‘ ts of 
which hold heterodox opinions in fundamentals or matters Moharede 
; dans. 
of faith. 


_ The first controversies relating to fundamentals began 
when most of the companions of Muhammad were dead ;3 
for in their days was no dispute, unless about things of 
small moment, if we except only the dissensions concern- 
ing the Imams, or rightful successors of their prophet, 
which were stirred up and fomented by interest and ambi- 
tion ; the Arabs’ continual employment in the wars during 
that time allowing them little or no leisure to enter into 
nice inquiries and subtle distinctions. But no sooner was | 
the ardour of conquest a little abated than they began to 
examine the Quran more nearly; whereupon differences 
in opinion became unavoidable, and at length so greatly 
multiplied, that the number of their sects, according to 
the common opinion, are seventy-three. For the Muham- 
madans seem ambitious that their religion should exceed 
others even in this respect, saying, that the Magians are 


1 [Ibn Khallikén. 3 Al Shahristdni, apud Poc Spec., 
2 Abulfar.,< ubi supra, p. 301, p.194; Auctor Sharh al Mawakif, 
&e. apud eund., p. 2I0. 


Q 


The Khari- 
jites. 


The Mutazi- 
lites. 


242 THE-PRELIMINARY, DISCOURSE. TisECavits 


divided into seventy sects, the Jews into seventy-one, the 
Christians into seventy-two, and the Muslims into seventy- 
three, as Muhammad had foretold ;! of which sects they 
reckon one to be always orthodox and entitled to salvation.” 

The first heresy was that of the Kharijites, who revolted 
from Ali in the thirty-seventh year of the Hijra; and not 
long after, Mabad al Johni, Ghailan of Damascus, and 
Jonas al Aswari broached heterodox opinions concerning 
predestination and the ascribing of good and evil unto 
Gop, whose opinions were followed by Wasil Ibn Ata.? 
This latter was the scholar of Hasan of Basra, in whose 
school a question being proposed, whether he who had 
committed a grievous sin was to be deemed an infidel or 
not, the Kharijites (who used to come and dispute there) 
maintaining the affirmative, and the orthodox the negative, 
Wasil, without waiting his master’s decision, withdrew 
abruptly, and began to publish among his fellow-scholars 
a new opinion of his own, to wit, that such a sinner was 
in a middle state; and he was thereupon expelled the 
school; he and his followers being thenceforth called 
Mutazilites, or Separatists.4 

The several sects which have arisen since this time are 
variously compounded and decompounded of the opinions 
of four chief sects, the Mutazilites, the Sifatians, the Kha- 
rijites, and the Shiites.° 

I. The Mutazilites were the followers of the before- 
mentioned Wasil Ibn Ata. As to their chief and general 
tenets: 1. They entirely rejected all eternal attributes of 








1 Vide Poc. Spec., ubi sup. 

2 Al Shahristini, apud eund., p. 
211. 

3 Idem, and Auctor Sharh al 
Mawiakif, ubi sup. 

4 Idem, ibid., pp. 211, 212, and 
Ibn Khallikén in Vita Wasili. 

5 Al Shahristdni, who also reduces 
them to four chief sects, puts the 
Qadarians in the place of the Muta- 
zilites. Abulfaragius (Hist. Dyn., 


p- 166) reckons six principal sects, 
adding the Jabarians and the Mur- 
jians ; and the author of ‘Sharh al 
Mawdakif” eight, viz., the Mutazil- 
ites, the Shiites, the Kharijites, the 
Murjians, the Najarians, the Jaba- 
rians, the Mushdbbihites, and the sect 
which he calls al Najia, because that 
alone will be saved, being according 
to him the sect of the Asharians. 
Vide Poc. Spec., p. 209. 


SEC. VIII] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 243 


Gop, to avoid the distinction of persons made by the 
Christians, saying that eternity is the proper or formal 
attribute of his essence; that Gop knows by his essence, 
and not by his knowledge;! and the same they affirmed 
of his other attributes? (though all the Mutazilites do 
not understand these words in one sense); and hence 
this sect were also named Muattalites, from their divest- 
ing Gop of his attributes;* and they went so far as 
to say that to affirm these attributes is the same thing 
as to make more eternals than one, and that the unity 
of GoD is inconsistent with such an opinion;* and this 
was the true doctrine of Wasil their master, who de- 
clared that whoever asserted an eternal attribute asserted 
there were two Gops.® ‘This point of speculation con- 
cerning the divine attributes was not ripe at first, but 
was at lencth brought to maturity by Wasil’s followers 
after they had read the books of the philosophers.® 2. 
They believed the Word of Gop to have been created im 
subjecto (as the schoolmen term it), and to consist of letters 
and sound, copies thereof being written in books to ex- 
press or imitate the original. They also went farther, and 
affirmed that whatever is created im subjecto is also an 
accident and lable to perish.’ 3. They denied absolute 
predestination, holding that GoD was not the author of 
evil, but of good only, and that man was a free agent ;° 
which being properly the opinion of the Qadarians, we 
defer what may be further said thereof till we come to 
speak of that sect. On account of this tenet and the first, 
the Mutazilites look on themselves as the defenders of 


1 Maimonides teaches the same, (in Proleg. ad Pirke Aboth., § 8) 
not as the doctrine of the Mutazi- asserts the same thing. 
lites, but his own. Vide More, Nev. > Vide Poe. Spec., ibid. 


Pir. 6. 57: § Al Shahrist., ibid., p. 215. 
2 Al Shahristdni, apud. Poc. Spec., ? Abulfarag and al Shahrist., ubi 
p- 214; Abulfarag, p. 167. sup., p. 217. See supra, Sect. IIL, 
3 Vide Poc. Spec., p. 224. De lize 


4 Sharh al Mawakif, and al Shah- & Vide Poe. Spec., p. 240. 
rist., apud Poc., p. 216. Maimonides 


244 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VIII. 


the unity and justice of Gop 4. They held that if a 
professor of the true religion be guilty of a grievous sin 
and die without repentance, he will be eternally damned, 
though his punishment will be lighter than that of the 
infidels.2. 5. They denied all vision of Gop in paradise by 
the corporeal eye, and rejected all comparisons or simili- | 
tudes applied to Gop? 

Various = ‘This sect are said to have been the first inventors of 

this sect. scholastic divinity,* and are subdivided into several infe- 
rior sects, amounting, as some reckon, to twenty, which 
mutually brand one another with infidelity.© The most 
remarkable of them are :— 

pes apa. Sate The Hudailians, or followers of Hamadan Abu Hudail, 

a Mutazilite doctor, who differed something from the com- 

mon form of expression used by this sect, saying that Gop 
knew by his knowledge, but that his knowledge was his 
essence; and so of the other attributes: which opinion he 
took from the philosophers, who affirm the essence of 
Gop to be simple and without multiplicity, and that his 
attributes are not posterior or accessory to his essence, or 
subsisting therein, but are his essence itself; and this the 
more orthodox take to be next kin to making distinctions 
in the deity, which is the thing they so much abhor in the 
Christians. As to the Quran’s being created, he made 
some distinction, holding the Word of Gop to be partly 
not 7 subjecto (and therefore uncreated), as when he spake 
the word Kun, we., fiat, at the creation, and partly in 
subjecto, as the precepts, prohibitions, &c.’ Marracci’ men- 
tions an opinion of Abu Hudail’s concerning predestina- 
tion, from an Arab writer,? which being by him expressed 
in a manner not very intelligible, I choose to omit. 





1 Al Shahrist. and Sharh al Ma- > Auctor al Mawdkif, apud Poc., 
wakif, apud Poc., ubi sup., p. 214. ibid. 

2 Marracc., Prodr. ad ref. Alcor., 6 Al Shahristéni, apud Poc., pp. 
part 3, p. 74. 215,210. 207; 

3 Tdem, ibid. 7 Idem, apud eund., p. 217, &c. 

4 Vide Poc: Spec. p.-213, and. ® In Prodr;part:3, p74, 
D’ Herbel., art. Mutazilah. _ ® AlShahristéni. , 


SEC. VIIL|- THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. Phas 


2. The Jubbaians, or followers of Abu Ali Muhammad The Jubba- 
Ibn Abd al Wahab, surnamed al Jubbdi, whose meaning“ 
when he made use of the common expression of the 
Mutazilites, that “Gop knows by his essence,” &c., was 
that Gop’s' being knowing is not an attribute the same 
with knowledge, nor such a state as rendered his being 
knowing necessary. He held Gop’s Word to be created 
in suljecto, as in the preserved table, for example, the 
memory of Gabriel, Muhammad, &c.2 This sect, if Mar- 
racci has given the true sense of his author, denied that 
Gop could be seen in paradise without the assistance of 
corporeal eyes, and held that man produced his acts by 
a power superadded to health of body and soundness of 
limbs; that he who was guilty of a mortal sin was neither 
a believer nor an infidel, but a transgressor (which was 
the original opinion of Wasil), and if he died in his 
sins, would be doomed to hell for eternity; and that 
Gop conceals nothing of whatever he knows from his 
servants.? 

3. The Hashamians, who were so named from their The Hisha- 
master, Abu Hdsham Abd al Salam, the son of Abu Alial”™ 
Jubbai, and whose tenets nearly agreed with those of the 
preceding sect. Abu Hasham took the Mutazilite form 
of expression that “Gop knows by his essence” in a differ- 
ent sense from others, supposing it to mean that Gop hath 
or is endued with a disposition which is a known pro- 
perty or quality posterior or accessory to his existence.® 
His followers were so much afraid of making Gop the 
author of evil that they would not allow him to be said 
to create an infidel, because, according to their way of 
arguing, an infidel is a compound of infidelity and man, 
and Gop is not the creator of infidelity. Abu Hasham 








1 Al Shahristani, apud Poe. Spec., 3 Marracci, ubi sup., p. 75, ex a 
p- 215. Shahristani. 4 Idem, ibid. 

2 Idem, and Auctor al Mawdkif, ° Al Shahrist., apud Poc., p. 215. 
ibid., p. 218. 6 Tdem, ibid., p. 242. 


The Nud- 
hamians, 


The Haya- 


tians., 


The Jahi- 
dhians, 


246 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. VIII. 


and his father, Abu Ali al Jubbai, were both celebrated 
for their skill in scholastic divinity.? 

4. The Nudhamians, or followers of Ibrahim al Nudham, 
who having read books of philosophy, set up a new sect, 
and imagining he could not sufficiently remove Gop from 
being the author of evil without divesting him of his 
power in respect thereto, taught that no power ought to 
be ascribed to GoD concerning evil and rebellious actions ; 
but this he affirmed against the opinion of his own dis- 
ciples, who allowed that Gop could do evil, but did not, 
because of its turpitude.? Of his opinion as to the Quran’s 
being created we have spoken elsewhere.? 

5. The Hayatians, so named from Ahmad Ibn Hayat, 
who had been of the sect of the Nudhamians, but broached 
some new notions on reading the philosophers. His 


peculiar opinions were: 1. That Christ was the eternal. 


Word incarnate, and took a true and real body, and will 
judge all creatures in the life to come:* he also farther 
asserted that there are two Gops or Creators—the one 
eternal, viz., the most high Gop, and the other not eternal, 
viz., Christ °—which opinion, though Dr. Pocock urges 
the same as an argument that he did not rightly under- 
stand the Christian mysteries,° is not much different from 
that of the Arians and Socinians. 2. That there is a 
successive transmigration of the soul from one body into 
another, and that the last body will enjoy the reward or 
suffer the punishment due to each soul;’ and 3. That 
GoD will be seen at the resurrection, not with the bodily 
eyes, but those of the understanding.§ 

6. The Jahidhians, or followers of Amru Ibn Bahr, 
surnamed al Jahidh, a great doctor of the Mutazilites, 


1 Ibn Khallikan, in Vitis Eorem. 5 Al Shahrist., al Mawdkif, et Ibn 
2 Al Shahrist., ubi sup., pp. 241, Kussd, apud Poc. Spec., ubi sup., p. 
242. Vide Marracc., Prod., part 3, 219. 
p. 74. 6 Vide Poc. Spec., ibid. 
3 See supra, Sect. III., p. 113. 7 Marrace. et al Shahrist., ubi sup. 
4 Al Shahrist., ubi sup., p. 218; 8 Marracc., ibid., p. 75. 
Abulfarag, p. 167. 


SEC. VilI.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 247 


and very much admired for the elegance of his com- 
posures,| who differed from his brethren in that he 
imagined that the damned would uot be eternally tor- 
mented in hell, but would be changed into the nature of 
fire, and that the fire would of itself attract them, without 
any necessity of their going into it.2 He also taught that 
if a man believed Gop to be his Lord and Muhammad the 
apostle of Gop, he became one of the faithful, and was 
obliged to nothing farther. His peculiar opinion as to 
the Quran has been taken notice of before.4 

7, The Muzdarians, who embraced the opinions of Isa ee 
Ibn Subaih al Muzdar, and those very absurd ones; for, 
besides his notions relating to the Quran,> he went so 
directly counter to the opinion of those who abridged 
Gop of the power to do evil, that he affirmed it possible 
for Gop to be a har and unjust. He also pronounced 
him to be an infidel who thrust himself into the supreme 
government ;’ nay, he went so far as to assert men to be 
infidels while they said “There is no Gop but Gop,’ and 
even condemned all the rest of mankind as guilty of 
infidelity ; upon which Ibrahim Ibn al Sandi asked him 
whether paradise, whose breadth equals that of heaven 
and earth, was created only for him’ and two or three 
more who thought as he did? to which it is said he could 
return no answer.® 

8. The Basharians, who maintained the tenets of Bashar The Bash- 
Ibn Mutamir, the master of al Muzdar? and a principal 
man among the Mutazilites. He differed in some things 
from the general opinion of that sect, carrying man’s free 
agency to a great excess, making it even independent; 
and yet he thought Gop might doom an infant to eternal 
punishment, but granted he would be unjust in so doing. 





1'Vide D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., 5 Vide ibid., and p. 112. 


art. Giahedh. 6 Al Shahrist., apud Poc., p. 241. 
2 Al Shahrist., ubi sup., p. 260. 7 Marracc., ubi sup., p. 75. | 
3 Marracc., ubi sup., 8 Al Shahrist., ubi sup., p. 220. 


4’Sect. IIL, p. 113. , ® Poc. Spec., p. 221. 


248 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VIII. 


He taught that Gop is not always obliged to do that which 
is best, for if he pleased he could make all men true 
believers. These sectaries also held that if a man repent 
of a mortal sin and afterwards return to it, he will be liable 
to suffer the punishment due to the former transgression.! 
The Thamé- 9, The Thamamians, who follow Thamama Ibn Bashar, 
ey a chief Mutazilite. Their pecuhar opinions were: 1. That 
sinners should remain in hell for ever. 2. That free 
actions have no producing author. 3. That at the resur- 
rection all infidels, idolaters, atheists, Jews, Christians, 
Magians, and heretics shall be reduced to dust.? 
The Qada- 10. The Qadarians, which is really a more ancient 
its name than that of Mutazilites, Mabad al Johni and his 
adherents being so called, who disputed the doctrine of 
predestination before Wasil quitted his master;? for 
which reason some use the denomination of Qadarians as ~ 
more extensive than the other, and comprehend all the 
Mutazilites under itt This sect deny absolute predes- 
tination, saying that evil and injustice ought not to be 
attributed to Gop, but to man, who is a free agent, and 
may therefore be rewarded or punished for his actions, 
which Gop has granted him power either to do or to let 
alone.© And hence it is said they are called Qadarians 
because they deny al Qadr, or Gop’S absolute decree; 
though others, thinking it not so proper to affix a name 
to a sect from a doctrine which they combat, will have it 
come from Qadr or Qudrat, 1.¢., power, because they assert 
man’s power to act freely. Those, however, who give 
the name of Qadarians to the Mutazilites are their 
enemies, for they disclaim it, and give it to their antago- 
nists, the Jabarians, who likewise refuse it as an infamous 
appellation,’ because Muhammad is said to have declared 


1 Marracc., ubi sup. > Al Shahrist. Vide Poc. Spec., 


2 Idem, ibid. pp. 235 and 240, &c. 
3 Al Shahrist. 6 Vide Poe. Spec., ibid., p. 238. 


4 Al Firauzdb. Vide Poc, Spec., 7 Al Mutarrizi, al Shahrist. Vide 
Pp: 231,232,and 214: ibid., p. 232. : 


SEC: VIL] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 249 


the Qadarians to be the Magians of his followers! But 
what the opinion of these Qadarians in Muhammad’s 
time was is very uncertain. The Mutazilites say the 
name belongs to those who assert predestination and 
make Gop the author of good and evil,? viz., the Jabarians ; 
but all the other Muhammadan sects agree to fix it on 
the Mutazilites, who, they say, are like the Magians in 
establishing two principles, Light, or Gop, the author 
of good; and Darkness, or the devil, the author of evil; 
but this cannot absolutely be said of the Mutazilites, 
for they (at least the generality of them) ascribe men’s 
good deeds to Gop, but their evil deeds to themselves ; 
meaning thereby that man has a free lberty and power 
to do either good or evil, and is master of his actions; 
and for this reason it is that the other Muhammadans 
call them Magians, because they assert another author of 
actions besides Gop.? And indeed it is a difficult matter 
to say what Muhammad’s own opinion was in this matter ; 
for on the one side the Quran itself is pretty plain for 
absolute predestination, and many sayings of Muhammad 
are recorded to that purpose,* and one in particular, 
wherein he introduces Adam and Moses disputing before 
Gop in this manner: “Thou,” says Moses, “art Adam, 
whom Gop created, and animated with the breath of life, 
and caused to be worshipped by the angels, and placed in 
paradise, from whence mankind have been expelled for 
thy fault;” whereto Adam answered, “Thou art Moses, 
whom Gop chose for his apostle, and intrusted with his 
Word by giving thee the tables of the law, and whom he 
vouchsafed to admit to discourse with himself: how many 
years dost thou find the law was written before I was 
created?” Says Moses, “Forty.” “And dost thou not 
find,” replied Adam, “these words therein, ‘And Adam 
rebelled against his Lord and transgressed’ ?” which 


1 Al Mutarrizi, al Shahrist., &., 3 Vide Poc., ibid., p. 233, &e. 
ibid. 2 Idem, ibid. 4 Vide ibid, p. 237. 


The Sifd- 
tians, 


250 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VIII. 


Moses confessing, “ Dost thou therefore blame me,” con- 
tinued he, “for doing that which Gop wrote of me that I 
should do forty years before I was created? nay, for what 
was decreed concerning me fifty thousand years before 
the creation of heaven and earth?” In the conclusion 
of which dispute Muhammad declared that Adam had 
the better of Moses.1. On the other side, it is urged in 
the behalf of the Mutazilites, that Muhammad declaring 
that the Qadarians and Murjians had been cursed by the 
tongues of seventy prophets, and being asked who the 
Qadarians were, answered, “Those who assert that Gop 
predestinated them to be guilty of rebellion, and yet 
punishes them for it.’ Al Hasan is also said to have 
declared that Gop sent Muhammad to the Arabs while 
they were Qadarians or Jabarians, and laid their sins 
upon Gop: and to confirm the matter, this sentence of 
the Quran is quoted:2 “When they commit a filthy 
action, they say, We found our fathers practising the 
same, and Gop hath commanded us so to do: Say, Verily 
Gop commandeth not filthy actions.” 3 

II. The Sifatians held the opposite opinion to the 
Mutazilites in respect to the eternal attributes of Gop, 
which they affirmed, making no distinction between the 
essential attributes and those of operation; and hence 
they were named Sifatians, or Attributists. Their doc- 
trine was that of the first Muhammadans, who were not 
yet acquainted with these nice distinctions: but this sect 
afterwards introduced another species of declarative attri- 
butes, or such as were necessarily used in historical narra- 
tion, as hands, face, eyes, &c., which they did not offer to 
explain, but contented themselves with saying they were 
in the law, and that they called them declarative attri- 
butes.t However, at length, by giving various explica- 
tions and interpretations of these attributes, they divided 


1 Tbn al Athir, al Bokhdri, apud 3 Al Mutarrizi, apud eund., pp. 
Poc. Spec., p. 236. 237,238: 
2 Cap. 7, V. 29. 4 Al Shahrist., Poc. Spec., p. 223. 


SEC. Vill.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 251 


into many different opinions: some, by taking the words 
in the literal sense, fell into the notion of a likeness or 
similitude between Gop and created beings; to which it 
is said the Karaites among the Jews, who are for the 
literal interpretation of Moses’s law, had shown them the 
way:! others explained them in another manner, say- 
ing that no creature was like Gop, but that they neither 
understood nor thought it necessary to explain the precise 
signification of the words, which seem to affirm the same 
of both, it being sufficient to believe that Gop hath no 
companion or similitude. Of this opinion was Malik Ibn 
Ans, who declared as to the expression of GoD’s sitting 
on his throne, in particular, that though the meaning is 
known, yet the manner is unknown; and that it is ne- 
cessary to believe it, but heresy to make any questions 
about it.? 

The sects of the Sifatians are :— 

1. The Asharifans, the followers of Abu’l Hasan al the Asha. 
Ashari, who was first a Mutazilite, and the scholar of 
Abu Ali al Jobbai, but disagreeing from his master in 
opinion as to Gop’s being bound (as the Mautazilites 
assert) to do always that which is best or most expedient, 
left him and set up a new sect of himself. The occasion 
of this difference was the putting a case concerning three 
brothers, the first of whom lived in obedience to Gop, the 
second in rebellion against him, and the third died an 
infant. Al Jobbai being asked what he thought would 
become of them, answered, that the first would be re- 
warded in paradise, the second punished in hell, and the 
third neither rewarded nor punished. “But what,” objected 
al Ashari, “if the third say, O Lorn, if thou hadst given 
me longer life, that I might have entered paradise with 
my believing brother, it would have been better for me?” 
To which al Jobbai replied, “That Gop would answer, 
I knew that if thou hadst lived longer thou wouldst 





1 Vide Poe. Spec., ibid., p. 224. 2 Vide eund. ibid. 


Opinions 
regarding 
the attri- 
butes of 
God. 


252 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  ‘[SEC..VIIL 


have been a wicked person, and therefore cast into hell.” 
“Then,” retorted al Ashari, “the second will say, O Lorn, 
why didst thou not take me away while I was an infant, 
as thou didst my brother, that I might not have deserved 
to be punished for my sins nor ‘to be cast into hell?” 
To which al Jobbai could return no other answer than 
that Gop prolonged his life to give him an opportunity of 
obtaining the highest degree of perfection, which was best 
for him; but al Ashari demanding further why he did 
not for the same reason grant the other a longer life, to 
whom it would have been equally advantageous, al Jobbai 
was so put to it, that he asked whether the devil possessed 
him. “No,” says al Ashari, “ but the master’s ass will not 
pass the bridge;”+ 2¢., he is posed. 

The opinions of the Asharians were: 1. That they 
allowed the attributes of Gop to be distinct from his — 
essence, yet so as to forbid any comparisom to be made 
between God and his creatures.? This was also the opinion 
of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, and David al Ispahani, and others, 
who herein followed Malik Ibn Ans, and were so cautious 
of any assimilation of Gop to created beings, that they 
declared whoever moved his hand while he read these 
words, “I have created with my hand,” or stretched 
forth his finger in repeating this saying of Muhammad, 
“The heart of the believer is between two fingers of the 
Merciful,” ought to have his hand and finger cut off; ? 
and the reasons they gave for not explaining any such 
words were, that it is forbidden in the Quran, and that 
such explications were necessarily founded on conjecture 
and opinion, from which no man ought to speak of the 
attributes of Gop, because the words of the Quran might 
by that. means come to be understood differently from the. 
author’s meaning: nay, some have been so superstitiously 
scrupulous in this matter as not to allow the words hand, 





1 Auctor al Mawédkif, et al Safadi, 2 Al Shahrist., apud Poc. Spec., p. 
apud Poc., ubi sup., p. 230, &e. Ibn 230. 
Khallikén in Vita al Jobbdi., 3 Idem, apud eund., p. 228, &c. 


SEC. Vill.} THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 253 


face, and the like, when they occur in the Quran, to be 
rendered into Persian or any other language, but require 
them to be read in the very original words, and this they 
call the safe way.1 2. As to predestination, they held that 
Gop hath one eternal will, which is applied to whatsoever 
he willeth, both of his own actions and those of men, so 
far as they are created by him, but not as they are acquired 
or gained by them; that he willeth both their good and 
their evil, their profit and their hurt, and as he willeth 
and knoweth, he willeth concerning men that which he 
knoweth, and hath commanded the pen to write the same 
in the Preserved Table ; and this is his decree, and eternal 
immutable counsel and purpose.” They also went so far 
as to say that it may be agreeable to the way of Gop that 
man should be commanded what he is not able to perform.? 
But while they allow man some power, they seem to 
restrain it to such a power as cannot produce anything 
new ; only Gop, say they, so orders his providence that 
he creates, after or under, and together with every created 
or new power, an action which is ready whenever a man 
wills it and sets about it; and this action is called Casb, 
a.e., Acquisition, being in respect to its creation, from Gop, 
but in respect to its being produced, employed, and 
acquired, from man.* And Has being generally esteemed 
the orthodox opinion, it may not be improper farther to 
explain the same in the words of some other writers. The 
elective actions of men, says one, fall under the power of 
Gop alone; nor is their own power effectual thereto, but 
Gop causeth to exist in man power and choice; and if 
there be no impediment, he causeth his action to exist 
also, subject to his power, and joined with that and his 
choice; which action, as created, is to be ascribed to Gop, 
but as produced, employed, or acquired, to man. So that 
by the acquisition of an action is properly meant a man’s 


1 Vide Poe. Spec., ibid. 3 Idem, ibid., p. 246. 
2 Al Shahrist., apud eund., p. 245, 4 Al Shahrist. , apud Poe. air p- 
&c. 245, &e. 


254 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  [SEC. VIII. 


joining or connecting the same with his power and will, 
yet allowing herein no impression or influence on the 
existence thereof, save only that it is subject to his power.t 
Others, however, who are also on the side of al Ashart, 
and reputed orthodox, explain the matter in a different 
manner, and grant the impression or influence of the 
created power of man on his action, and that this power 


is what is called Acquisition.2, But the point will be still | 


clearer if we hear a third author, who rehearses the various 
opinions, or explications of the opinion of this sect, in the 
following words, viz.:—Abu’l Hasan al Ashart asserts all 
the actions of men to be subject to the power of Gop, 
being created by him, and that the power of man hath no 
influence at all on that which he is empowered to do, but 
that both the power and what is subject thereto fall 
under the power of Gop. Al Qadhi Abu Bagr says that the © 
essence or substance of the action is the effect of the 

power of Gop, but its being either an action of obedience, 
as prayer, or an action of disobedience, as fornication, are 
qualities of the action, which proceed from the power of 
man. Abdal Malik, known by the title of Imam al Hara- 
main, Abu’l Husain of Basra, and other learned men, held 
that the actions of men are effected by the power which 
Gop hath created in man, and that Gop causeth to exist 
in man both power and will, and that this power and will 
do necessarily produce that which man is empowered to 
do; and Abu Ishaq al Isfarayain taught that that which 
maketh impression or hath influence on an action is a 
compound of the power of Gop and the power of man.3 
The same author observes that their ancestors, perceiving 
a manifest difference between those things which are the 
effects of the election of man and those things which are 
the necessary effects of inanimate agents, destitute both 
of knowledge and choice, and being at the same time 





1 Auctor Sharh al Mawdkif, apud 3 Auctor Sharh al Tawaliya, apud 
eund., p. 247. eund, ibid., p, 248, &c. 
2 Al Shahrist., ibid., p. 248. 


SEC. VIII.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 


255 


pressed by the arguments which prove that Gop is the 
Creator of all things, and consequently of those things 
which are done by men, to conciliate the matter, chose 
the middle way, asserting actions to proceed from the 
power of Gop and the acquisition of man; Gop’s way of 
dealing with his servants being, that when man intendeth 
obedience, Gop createth in him an action of obedience ; 
and when he intendeth disobedience, he createth in him 
an action of disobedience; so that man seemeth to be the 
effective producer of his action, though he really be not. 
But this, proceeds the same writer, is again pressed with 
its difficulties, because the very intention of the mind is 
the work of Gop, so that no man hath any share in the 
production of his own actions; for which reason the 
ancients disapproved of too nice an inquiry into this 
point, the end of the dispute concerning the same being, 
for the most part, either the taking away of all precepts, 
positive as well as negative, or else the associating of a 
companion with Gop, by introducing some other indepen- 
dent agent besides him. Those, therefore, who would 
speak more accurately, use this form: There is neither 
compulsion nor free hberty, but the way lies between the 
two; the power and will in man being both created by 
Gop, though the merit or guilt be imputed unto man. 
Yet, after all, it is judged the safest way to follow the 
steps of the primitive Muslims, and, avoiding subtle dis- 
putations and too curious inquiries, to leave the knowledge 
of this matter wholly unto Gop. 3. As to mortal sin, the 


1 Auctor Sharh al Tawéliya, ibid., 


PPp- 249, 250. 

2 Idem, ibid., pp. 250,251. Itrust 
the reader will not be offended if, as 
a further illustration of what has 
been said on this subject (in pro- 
ducing of which I have purposely 
kept to the original Muhammadan 
expressions) I transcribe a passage 
or two from a postscript subjoined 
to the epistle I have quoted above 
($ 4, p. 85), in which the point of 


free will is treated ex professo. 
Therein the Moorish author, having 
mentioned the two opposite opinions 
of the Qadarians, who allow free 
will, and the Jabarians, who make 
man a necessary agent (the former 
of which opinions, he says, seems to 
approach nearest to that of the 
greater part of Christians and of 
the Jews), declares the true opinion 
to be that of the Sunnis, whoj as- 
sert that man hath power and will 


Their views 
of sin. 


256 


THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 


[SEC. VIII. 


Asharians taught, that if a believer guilty of such sin die 
without repentance, his sentence is*to be left with Gon, 
whether he pardon him out of mercy, or whether the 
prophet intercede for him (according to that saying re- 
corded of him, “ My intercession shall be employed for 
those among my people who shall have been guilty of | 
grievous crimes”), or whether he punish him in proportion 
to his demerit, and afterwards, through his mercy, admit 
him into paradise; but that it is not to be supposed he 


to choose good and evil, and can 
moreover know he shall be rewarded 
if he do well, and shall be punished 
if he do ill; but that he depends, 
notwithstanding, on Gop’s power, 
and willeth, if Gop willeth, but not 
otherwise. Then he proceeds briefly 
to refute the two extreme opinions, 
and first to prove that of the Qada- 
rians, though it be agreeable to 
Gop’s justice, inconsistent with his 
attributes of wisdom and power: 
“‘Sapientia enim Dei,” says he, 
““comprehendit quicquid fuit et fu- 
turum est ab eternitate in finem 
usque mundi et postea. Et ita novit 
ab eterno omnia opera creaturarum, 
sive bona, sive mala, que fuerint 
creata cum potentia Dei, et ejus 
libera et determinata voluntate, si- 
cut ipsi visum fuit. Denique novit 
eum qui futurus erat malus, et ta- 
men creavit eum, et similiter bonum, 
quem etiam creavit: neque negari 
potest quin, si ipsi libuisset, potuisset 
omnes creare bonos: placuit tamen 
Deo creare bonos et malos, cum Deo 
soli sit absoluta et libera voluntas, 
et perfecta electio, et non homini. 
Ita enim Salomon in suis proverbiis 
dixit, Vitam et mortem, bonum et 
malum, divitias et paupertatem, esse 
et venire & Deo. Christiani etiam 
dicunt 8. Paulum dixisse in suis 
epistolis ; Dicet etiam lutum figulo, 
quare facis unum vas ad honorem, 
et aliud vas ad contumeliam? Cum 
igitur miser homo fuerit creatus & 
voluntate Dei et potentia, nihil aliud 
potest tribui ipsi quam ipse sensus 
cognoscendi et sentiendi an bene vel 


male faciat. Que unica causa (id 
est, sensus cognoscendi) erit ejus 
gloriz vel poene causa: per talem 
enim sensum novit quid boni vel 
mali adversus Dei preecepta fecerit.” 
The opinion of the Jabarians, on 
the other hand, he rejects as con- 
trary to man’s consciousness of his 
own power and choice, and incon- © 
sistent with Gop’s justice, and his 
having given mankind laws, to the 
observing or transgressing of which 
he has annexed rewards and punish- 
ments. After this he proceeds to 
explain the third opinion in the fol- 
lowing words: ‘*Tertia opinio Zunis 
(i.e., Sonnitarum) que vera est, 
affrmat homini potestatem esse, sed 
limitatem & sua causa, id est, depen- 
dentem 4 Dei potentia et voluntate, 
et propter illam cognitionem qua 
deliberat bené vel malé facere, esse 
dignum pcena vel premio. Mani- 
festum est in eternitate non fuisse 
aliam potentiam preter Dei nostri 
omnipotentis, e cujus potentia pen- 
debant omnia possibilia, id est, que 
poterant esse, cum ab ipso fuerint 
creata. Sapientia verd Dei novit 
etiam que non sunt futura: et po- 
tentia ejus, etsi non creaverit ea, 
potuit tamen, si ita Deo placuisset. 
Ita novit sapientia Dei que erant 
impossibilia, id est, quee non poterant 
esse ; que tamen nullo pacto pen- 
dent ab ejus potentia ; ab ejus enim 
potentia nulla pendent nisi possi- 
bilia. Dicimus enim & Dei potentia 
non pendere creare Deum alium ipsi 
similem, nec creare aliquid quod 
moveatur et quiescat simul eodem 


~ 


% 


SEC. VIIIl.]| THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 


257 


will remain for ever in hell with the infidels, seeing it is 
declared that whoever shall have faith in his heart but of 
the weight of an ant, shall be delivered from hell-fire.1 
And this is generally received for the orthodox doctrine 
in this point, and is Sipe ony opposite to that of the 
Mutazilites. 

These were the more rational Sifdtians, but the ignorant 
part of them, not knowing how otherwise to explain the 
expressions of the Quran relating to the declarative attri- 
butes, fell into most gross and absurd opinions, making 
Gop corporeal and like created beings.2, Such were— 

2. The Mushabbihites, or Assimilators, who allowed a The Masha 
resemblance between Gop and his creatures,* supposing 





tempore, cium hec sint ex impossi- 
bilibus: comprehendit tamen sua 
sapientiad tale aliquid non pendere 
ab ejus potentia.—A. potentia igitur 
Dei pendet solim quod potest esse, 
et possibile est esse; que semper 
parata est dare esse possibilibus. Et 
si hoc penitus cognoscamus, cognos- 
cemus pariter omne quod est, seu 
futurum est, sive sint opera nostra, 
Sive quidvis aliud, pendere & sola 
potentia Dei. Et hoc non privatim 
intelligitur, sed in genere de omni 
eo quod est et movetur, sive in ccelis 
sive in terra; et nec aliqua potentia 
potest impediri Dei potentia, chm 
nulla alia potentia absoluta sit, pre- 
ter Dei; potentia verd nostra non 
est & se, nisi & Dei potentia: et cum 
potentia nostra dicitur esse a causa 
‘sua, ideo dicimus potentiam nostram 
esse straminis comparatam cum po- 
tentia Dei: eo enim modo quo stra- 
men movetur & motu maris, ita nos- 
tra potentia et voluntas a Dei poten- 
tia. Itaque Dei potentia semper 
est parata etiam ad occidendum ali- 
quem ; ut si quis hominem occidat, 
non dicimus potentié hominis id 
factum, sed eterna potentia Dei: 
error enim est id tribuere potentice 
hominis. Potentia enim Dei, cium 
semper sit parata, et ante ipsum 
hominem, ad occidendum; si sola 


hominis potentié id factum esse. 


diceremus, et moreretur, potentia 
sane Dei (que anté erat) jam ibi 
esset frustra : quia post mortem non 
potest potentia Dei eum iterum occi- 
dere ; ex quo sequeretur potentiam 
Dei impediri 4 potentia hominis, et 
potentiam hominis anteire et ante- 
cellere potentiam Dei: quod est ab- 
surdum et impossibile. Igitur Deus 
est qui operatur eterna sua poten- 
tid: si verd homini injiciatur culpa, 
sive in tali homicidio, sive in aliis, 
hoc est quanttm ad precepta et 
legem. Homini tribuitur soltm 
opus externée, et ejus electio, que 
est a voluntate ejus et potentia; 
non vero interné.—Hoc est punctum 
illud indivisibile et secretum, quod 
& paucissimis capitur, ut sapientissi- 
mus Sidi Abo Hamet Elgaceli (ice., 
Dominus Abu Hamed al Ghazdli) 
affirmat (cujus spiritui Deus conce- 
dat gloriam, Amen!) sequentibus 
verbis: Ita abditum et profundum 
et abstrusum est intelligere punctum 
illud Liberi Arbitrii, ut neque char- 
acteres ad scribendum, neque ulle 
rationes ad experimendum suficiant, 
et omnes, quotquot de hac re locuti 
sunt, heserunt confusi in ripa tanti 
et tam spaciosi maris.” 

1 Al Shahrist., apud Poc., p. 258. 

#Vide*Poe. ibid. p. 255, dei: 
Abulfar., p. 167, &c. 

3 Al Mawdakif, apud Poc., ibid. 

R 


258 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VII. 


him to be a figure composed of members or parts, either 
spiritual or corporeal, and capable of local motion, of 
ascent and descent, &c.! Some of this sect inclined to 
the opinion of the Hululians, who believed that the divine 
nature might be united with the human in the same per- 
son; for they granted it possible that Gop might appear 
in a human form, as Gabriel did; and to confirm their 
opinion they allege Muhammad’s words, that he saw his 
LorD in a most beautiful form, and Moses talking with 
Gop face to face? And 

The Kara- 3. The Karamians, or followers of Mithaeariee Ibn 

Mujassa- Karam, called also Mujassamians, or Corporalists, who not 

Toil only admitted a resemblance between Gop and created 
beings, but declared Gop to be corporeal.? The more sober 
among them, indeed, when they applied the word “body” to 
Gop, would be understood to mean that he is a self-sub- 
sisting being, which with them is the definition of body; 
but yet some of them affirmed him to be finite, and cir- 
cumscribed, either on all sides, or on some only (as beneath, 
for example), according to different opinions;* and others 
allowed that he might be felt by the hand and seen by 
the eye. Nay, one David al Jawari went so far as to say 
that his deity was a body composed of flesh and blood, 
and that he had members, as hands, feet, a head, a tongue, 
eyes, and ears ; but that he was a body, however, not like 
other bodies, neither was he like to any created being: he 
is also said further to have affirmed that from the crown 
of the head to the breast he was hollow, and from the 
breast downward solid, and that he had black curled hair.® 
These most blasphemous and monstrous notions were the 
consequence of the literal acceptation of those passages in 
the Quran which figuratively attribute corporeal actions 
to Gop, and of the words of Muhammad when he gaid 


1 Al Shahrist., apud eund., ibid., 3 Al Shahrist., ubi sup. 
p. 226. 4 Idem, ibid., p. 225. 

2 Vide Marrace., Prodr., part 3 > Idem, ibid., pp. 226, 227. 
p: 76. 


SEC. VIlI.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 259 


that Gop created man in his own image, and that himself 
had felt the fingers of Gop, which he laid on his back, to - 
be cold. Besides which, this sect are charged with father- 
ing on their prophet a great number of spurious and forged 
traditions to support their opinion, the greater part whereof 
they borrowed from the Jews, who are accused as naturally 
prone to assimilate GoD to men, so that they describe him 
as weeping for Noah’s flood till his eyes were sore.1 And, 
indeed, though we grant the Jews may have imposed on 
Muhammad and his followers in many instances, and told 
them as solemn truths things which themselves believed 
not or had invented, yet many expressions of this kind 
are to be found in their writings; as when they introduce 
GoD roaring like a lion at every watch of the night, and 
crying, “Alas! that I have laid waste my house, and 
suffered my temple to be*burnt, and sent my children into 
banishment among the heathen,’ &c.? 

The Jabarians, who are the direct opponents of the the Jaba- 
Qadarians, denying free agency in men, and ascribing his their wats 
actions wholly unto Gop They take their denomination hating” 
from al jabr, which signifies necessity or compulsion ; 
because they hold man to be necessarily and inevitably 
constrained to act as he does by force of Gonp’s eternal and 
immutable decree.* This sect is distinguished into several 
species, some being more rigid and extreme in their opi- 
nion, who are thence called pure Jabarians, and others 
more moderate, who are therefore called middle Jabarians. 
The former will not allow men to be said either to act or 
to have any power at all, either operative or acquiring, 
asserting that man can do nothing, but produces all his 
actions by necessity, having neither power, nor will, nor 
choice, any more than an inanimate agent; they also de- 
clare that rewarding and punishing are also the effects of 
necessity ; and the same they say of the imposing of 


1 Al Shahrist., ibid., pp. 227, 228. 3 Vide Abulfarag, p. 168. 
2'Talm. Berachoth, c. 1. Vide 4 Al Shahrist., al Mawdkif, et Ibn 
Poc., ubi sup., p. 228. al Kussd, apud Poc., ibid., p. 238, &c. 


260 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VHI. 


commands. This was the doctrine of the Jahmians, the 
followers of Jahm Ibn Safwan, who likewise held that 
paradise and hell ‘will vanish or be annihilated after 
those who are destined thereto respectively shall have 
entered them, so that at last there will remain no existing 
being besides Gop;! supposing those words of the Quran 
which declare that the inhabitants of paradise and of hell 
shall remain therein for ever to be hyperbolical only, and 
intended for corroboration, and not to denote an eternal 
duration in reality. The moderate Jabarians are those 
who ascribe some power to man, but such a power as hath 
no influence on the action ; for as to those who erant the 
power of man to have a certain influence on the action, 
which influence is called Acquisition, some ® will not admit 
them to be called Jabarians, though others reckon those 
also to be called middle Jabarians, and to contend for the 
middle opinion between absolute necessity and absolute 
liberty, who attribute to man Acquisition or concurrence 
in producing the action, whereby he gaineth commendation 
or blame (yet without admitting it to have any influence 
on the action), and therefore make the Asharians a branch 
of this sect.4. Having again mentioned the term Acquisi- 
tion, we may perhaps, have a clearer idea of what the 
Muhammadans mean thereby when told that it is defined 
to be an action directed to the obtaining of profit or the 
removing of hurt, and for that reason never applied to any 
action of Gop, who acquireth to himself neither profit nor 
hurt.2 Of the middle or moderate Jabarians were the 
Najarians and the Dirarians. The Najarians were the 
adherents of al Hasan Ibn Muhammad al Najar, who 
taught that Gop was he who created the actions of men, 
both good and bad, and that man acquired them, and also 
that man’s power had an influence on the action, or a 





1 Al Shahrist., al Mutarizzi, et Ibn 3 Al Shahrist. 
al Kussd, apud eund., pp. 239, 243, 4 Ibn al Kussé et al Mawékif. 
&e. ® Ibn al Kussd, apud Poc., ubi 
* Idem, ibid., p. 260. sup., p. 240. 


SEC. VII.} THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 261 


certain co-operation, which he called Acquisition; and 
herein he agreed with al Ashari1 The Dirarians were the 
disciples of Dirar Ibn Amru, who held also that men’s 
actions are really created by Gop, and that man really 
acquired them.” The Jabarians also say that Gop is abso- 
lute Lord of his creatures, and may deal with them 
according to his own pleasure, without rendering account 
to any, and that if he should admit all men without dis- 
tinction into paradise, it would be no impartiality, or if 
he should cast them all into hell, it would be no injus- 
tice. And in this particular likewise they agree with the 
Asharians, who assert the same,* and say that reward 
is a favour from Gop, and punishment a piece of justice ; 
obedience being by them considered as a sign only of 
future reward, and transgression as a sign of future pun- 
ishment.° 

5. The Murjians, who are said to be derived from the 
Jabarians.° These teach that the judgment of every true 
believer, who hath been guilty of a grievous sin, will be 
deferred till the resurrection ; for which reason they pass 
no sentence on him in this world, either of absolution or 
condemnation. They also hold that disobedience with 


1 Al Shahrist., apud eund., p. 245. 
2 Idem, ibid. 
3 Abulfarag, p. 168, &c. 


creatura sit ejus, nec facit cuiquam 
injuriam, etsi eam tormentis et 
peenis eternis afficiat: plus enim 


4 Al Shahristéni, ubi sup., p. 252, 
&e. 
® Sharh al Tawdliya, ibid. To the 
same effect writes the Moorish au- 
thor quoted above, from whom I will 
venture to transcribe the following 
passage, with which he concludes his 
Discourse on Freewill :—‘ Intellec- 
tus feré lumine naturali novit Deum 
esse rectum judicem et justum, qui 
non aliter afficit creaturam quam 
juste: etiam Deum esse absolutum 
Dominum, et hance orbis machinam 
esse ejus, et ab eo creatam ; Deum 
nullis debere rationem reddere, cium 
quicxuid agat, agat jure proprio sibi: 
et ita absolute poterit afficere preemio 
vel poena quem vult, cum omnis 


boni et commodi accepit creatura 
quando accepit esse a suo creatore, 
quam incommodi et damni quando 
ab eo damnata est et affecta tor- 
mentis et peenis. Hoc autem intel- 
ligitur si Deus absolute id faceret. 
Quando enim Deus, pietate et mise- 
ricordia motus, eligit aliquos ut ipsi 
serviant, Dominus Deus gratia sua 
id facit ex infinitéa bonitate; et 
quando aliquos derelinquit, et poenis 
et tormentis afficit, ex justitia et 
rectitudine. Et tandem dicimus 
omnes poenas esse justas que a Deo 
veniunt, et nostra tanttim culpa, et 
omnia bona esse & pietate et miseri- 
cordia ejus infinita.” 


6 Al Shahrist., ubi sup., p. 256. 


The Mur- 
jians. 


262 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VIII. 


faith hurteth not, and that, on the other hand, obedience 
with infidelity profiteth not.1 As to the reason of their 
name the learned differ, because of the different significa- 
tions of its root, each of which they accommodate to some 
opinion of the sect. Some think them so called because 
they postpone works to intention, that is, esteem works to 
be inferior in degree to intention and profession of the 
faith ;? others because they allow hope, by asserting that 
disobedience with faith hurteth not, &c.; others take the 
reason of the name to be their deferring the sentence of 
the heinous sinner till the resurrection ;? and others their 
degrading of Ali, or removing him from the first degree to 
the fourth ;4* for the Murjians, in some points relating to 
the office of Imam, agree with the Kharijites. This sect is 
divided into four species, three of which, according as they 
happen to agree in particular dogmas with the Kharijites, 
the Qadarians, or the Jabarians, are distinguished as Mur- 
jians of those sects, and the fourth is that of the pure 
Murjians, which last species is again subdivided into five 
others. The opinions of Muqatil and Bashar, both of a 
sect of the Murjians called Thaubanians, should not be 
omitted. The former asserted that disobedience hurts not 
him who professes the unity of Gop and is endued with 
faith, and that no true believer shall be cast into hell. He 
also taught that Gop will surely forgive all crimes besides 
infidelity, and that a disobedient believer will be punished 
at the day of resurrection on the bridge® laid over the 
midst of hell, where the flames of hell-fire shall catch hold 
on him, and torment him in proportion to his disobedience, 
and that-he shall then be admitted into paradise.’ The 
latter held that if Gop do cast the believers guilty of 
erievous sins into hell, yet they will be delivered thence 
after they shall have been sufficiently punished; but that 


1 Abulfarag, p. 160, 5 Idem, ibid. 
2 Al Firaus. 6 See supra, Sect. IV., p. 147. 
3 Ibn al Athir, al Mutarrizi. ? Al Shahrist., ubi sup., p. 257. 


* Al Shahrist., ubi sup., p. 254, &e. 


SEC. VIII.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 263 


it is neither possible nor consistent with justice that they 
should remain therein for ever; which, as has been ob- 
served, was the opinion of al Ashari. 

III. The Kharijites are they who depart or revolt from The Khiri- 
the lawful prince established by public consent; and? 
thence comes their name, which signifies revolters or 
rebels The first who were so called were twelve thou- 
sand men who revolted from Ah, after they had fought 
under him at the battle of Saffain, taking offence at 
his submitting the decision of his right to the Khalifat, 
which Muawiyah disputed with him, to arbitration, though 
they themselves had first obliged him to it.2. These were 
also called Muhaqqimites, or Judiciarians, because the 
reason which they gave for their revolt was that Ali had 
referred a matter concerning the religion of Gop to the 
judgment of men, whereas the judgment, in such case, 
belonged only unto Gop? The heresy of the Kharijites 
consisted chiefly in two things :—1. In that they affirmed a 
man might be promoted to the dignity of Imam or prince 
though he was not of the tribe of Quraish, or even a 
freeman, provided he was a just and pious person, and 
endued with the other requisite qualifications ; and also 
held that if the Imam turned aside from the truth, he 
might be put to death or deposed; and that there was 
no absolute necessity for any Imam at all in the world. 
2. In that they charged Ali with sin, for having left an 
affair to the judgment of men which ought to have been 
determined by Gop alone; and went so far as to declare 
him guilty of infidelity, and to curse him on that account.* 
In the 38th year of the Hijra, which was the year follow- 
ing the revolt, all these Kharijites who persisted in their 
rebellion, to the number of four thousand, were cut to 
pieces by Ali, and, as several historians® write, even to a 


1 Al Shahrist., ubi sup., p. 261. 4 Tdem, ibid. 
2 See Ockley’s Hist. of the Sara- > Abulfeda, al Janndbi, _Elma- 
cens, vol. i. p. 60, &e. cinus, p. 40. 


3 Al Shahrist., ubi sup., p. 270. 


Peculiar 
views of the 
Waidians. 


The Shiahs 
and their 
distinguish- 
ing doc- 
trines. 


264 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  [SEC. VIII. 


man; but others say nine of them escaped, and that two 
fled into Oman, two into Karman, two into Sajistan, two 
into Mesopotamia, and one to Tel Mawrun, and that 
these propagated their heresy in those places, the same 
remaining there to this day.! The principal sects of the 
Kharijites, besides the Muhaqqimites above mentioned, 
are six, which, though they greatly differ among them- 
selves in other matters, yet agree in these, viz., that they 
absolutely reject Othman and Ali, preferring the doing of 
this to the greatest obedience, and allowing marriages 
to be contracted on no other terms; that they account 
those who are guilty of grievous sins to be infidels; and 
that they hold it necessary to resist the Imam when he 
transgresses the law. One sect of them deserves more 
particular notice, viz.i— 

The Waidians, so called from al Waid, which signifies 
the threats denounced by Gop against the wicked. These 
are the antagonists of the Murjians, and assert that he 
who is guilty of a grievous sin ought to be declared an 
infidel or apostate, and will be eternally punished in hell, 
though he were a true believer ;* which opinion of theirs, 
as has been observed, occasioned the first rise of the 
Mutazilites. One Jaafar Ibn Mubashshar, of the sect of 
the Nudhamians, was yet more severe than the Waidians, 
pronouncing him to be a reprobate and an apostate who 
steals but a grain of corn? 

IV. The Shiahs are the opponents of the Kharijites: 
their name properly signifies sectaries or adherents in 
general, but is peculiarly used to denote those of Ali Ibn 
Talib, who maintain him to be lawful Khalifah and Imam, 
and that the supreme authority, both in spirituals and 
temporals, of right belongs to his descendants, notwith- 
standing they may be deprived of it by the injustice of 
others or their own fear. They also teach that the office 


1 Al Shahristéni. See Ockley’s 2 Abulfar., p. 169; Al Shahrist., 
Hist. of the Saracens, ubi sup., p. apud Poc. Spec., p. 256. 
63. # Vide Poo. ibid.j paca ts 


— 


SEC. vill.| THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 265 


of Imam is not a common thing, depending on the will of 
the vulgar, so that they may set up whom they please, 
but a fundamental affair of religion, and an article which 
the prophet could not have neglected or left to the fancy 
of the common people:! nay, some, thence called Imam- 
ians, go so far as to assert that religion consists solely in 
the knowledge of the true Imam.?_ The principal sects of 
the Shiahs are five, which are subdivided into an almost 
innumerable number, so that some understand Muham- 
mad’s prophecy of the seventy odd sects of the Shiahs 
only. Their general opinions are—1. That the peculiar 
designation of the Imam, and the testimonies of the 
Quran and Muhammad concerning him, are necessary 
points. 2. That the Imams ought necessarily to keep 
themselves free from light sins as well as more grievous. 
3. That every one ought publicly to declare who it ig 
that he adheres to, and from whom he separates himself, 
by word, deed, and engagement; and that herein there 
should be no dissimulation. But in this last point some 
of the Zaidians, a sect so named from Zaid, the son of 
Ali surnamed Zain al Abidin, and ereat-grandson of 
Ali, dissented from the rest of the Shiahs As to 
other articles wherein they agreed not, some of them 
came pretty near to the notions of the Mutazilites, others 
to those of the Mushabbihites, and others to those of 
the Sunnis.* Among the latter of these, Muhammad al 
Bakir, another son of Zain al Abidin’s, seems to claim a 
place; for his opinion as to the will of Gop was that 
Gop willeth something in us and something from us, and 
that what he willeth from us he hath revealed to us; for 
which reason he thought it preposterous that we should 
employ our thoughts about those things which Gop willeth 
in us, and neglect those which he willeth from us: and 
as to Gop’s decree, he held that the way lay in the middle, 





1 Al Shahrist., ibid.,p.261; Abul- 3 Idem, ibid. Vide D’Herbel., 
farag, p. 169. Bibl. Orient., art. Schiah. 
2 Al Shahrist., ibid., p. 262. 4 Vide Poc., ibid. 


Their vene- 
ration of Ali 
and his de- 
scendants. 


266 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _[SEC. VIII. 


and that there was neither compulsion nor free liberty. 
A tenet of the Khattaibians, or disciples of one Abu'l 
Khattab, is too peculiar to be omitted. These maintained 
paradise to be no other than the pleasures of this world, 
and hell-fire to be the pains thereof, and that the world 
will never decay : which proposition being first laid down, 
it is no wonder they went further, and declared it lawful 
to indulge themselves in drinking wine and whoring, and 
to do other things forbidden by the law, and also to omit 
doing the things commanded by the law.” 

Many of the Shiahs carried their veneration for Ali and 
his descendants so far that they transgressed all bounds 
of reason and decency, though some of them were less 
extravagant than others. The Ghuldites, who had their 
name from their excessive zeal for their Imams, were so 
highly transported therewith that they raised them above 
the degree of created beings, and attributed divine pro- 
perties to them; transgressing on either hand, by deifying 
of mortal men, and by making Gop corporeal; for one 
while they liken one of their Imams to GoD, and another 
while they liken Gop to a creature.2 The sects of these 
are various, and have various appellations in different 
countries. Abdallah Ibn Saba (who had been a Jew, and 
had asserted the same thing of Joshua the son of Nun) 
was the ringleader of one of them. This man gave the 
following salutation to Ali, viz., “Thou art Thou,” «.e., thou 
art Gop: and hereupon the Ghulaites became divided 
into several species, some maintaining the same thing, or 
something like it, of Al, and others of some of one of his 
descendants, affirming that he was not dead, but would 
return again in the clouds and fill the earth with justice. 
But how much soever they disagreed in other things, they 
unanimously held a metempsychosis, and what they call 
al Hulul, or the descent of Gop on his creatures, meaning 


1 Al Shahrist., ibid., p. 263. 3 Idem, ibid. 
2 Idem, et Ibn al Kussé, ibid., p. 4 Idem, ibid., p. 264. Vide Mar- 
260, &e. rac., Prodr., part 3, p. 80, &c. 


SEC. VIII.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. WSO 


thereby that Gop is present in every place, and speaks 
with every tongue, and appears in some individual per- 
son;? and hence some of them asserted their Imams to 
be prophets, and at length gods.2 The Nusairians and 
the Ishdqians taught that spiritual substances appear in 
grosser bodies, and that the angels and the devil have 
appeared in this manner. They also assert that Gop hath 
appeared in the form of certain men; and since, after 
Muhammad, there hath been no man more excellent than 
Ali, and, after him, his sons have excelled all other men, 
that Gop hath appeared in their form, spoken with their 
toneue, and made use of their hands; for which reason, 
say they, we attribute divinity to them.?* And to sup- 
port these blasphemies they tell several miraculous things 
of Ali, as his moving the gates of Khaibar,* which they 
urge as a plain proof that he was endued with a particle 
of divinity and with sovereign power, and that he was the 
person in whose form GoD appeared, with whose hands he 
created all things, and with whose tongue he published 
his commands; and therefore they say he was in being 
before the creation of heaven and earth.® In so impious 
a manner do they seem to wrest those things which are 
said in Scripture of CuRisT by applying them to Ali. 
These extravagant fancies of the Shiahs, however, in 
making their Imams partakers of the divine nature, and 
the impiety of some of those Imams in laying claim 
thereto, are so far from being peculiar to this sect, that 


* Talboys Wheeler, in his History of India, vol. iv. part i. p. 86, 
attributes these notions to all Shiahs. He says, “They believe in 
God as the Supreme Spirit; in Muhammad and his family as emana- 
tions from the Supreme Spirit.” This statement is too sweeping; the 
views here attributed to all belong to the Sufi portion of the sect. 

E. M. W. 


1 Al Shahristdni, ibid., p. 265. 3 Idem, ibid., Abulfar., p. 169. 
2 Vide D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., 4 See Prid., Life of Mah., p. 93. 
art. Hakem Beamrillah. ® Al Shahrist., ubi sup., p. 266. 


268 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. (SEC. VII. 


most of the other Muhammadan sects are tainted with the 
same madness, there being many found among them, 
and among the Sufis especially, who pretend to be nearly 
related to heaven, and who boast of strange revelations 
before the credulous people! It may not be amiss to hear 
what al Ghazali has written on this occasion. ‘“ Matters 
are come to that pass,” says he, “that some boast of an 
union with Gop, and of discoursing familiarly with him, 
without the interposition of a veil, saying, ‘It hath been 
thus said to us,’ and ‘ We have thus spoken;’ affecting to 
imitate Husain al Hallaj, who was put to death for some 
- words of this kind uttered by him, he having said (as was 
proved by credible witnesses), ‘I am the Truth, ? or Abu 
Yazid al Bastami, of whom it is related that he often used 
the expression, ‘Subhani, «¢., ‘Praise be unto me!’? But 
this way of talking is the cause of creat mischief among 
the common people, insomuch that husbandmen, neglect- 
ine the tillage of their land, have pretended to the like 
privileges, nature being tickled with discourses of this 
kind, which furnish men with an excuse for leaving their 
occupations, under pretence of purifying their souls, and 
attaining I know not what degrees and conditions. Nor 
is there anything to hinder the most stupid fellows from 
forming the like pretensions and catching at such vain 
expressions; for whenever what they say is denied to be 
true, they fail not to reply that our unbelief proceeds from 
learning and logic; affirming learning to be a veil, and 
logic the work of the mind; whereas what they tell us 
appears only within, being discovered by the light of 
truth. But this is that truth the sparks whereof have 
flown into several countries and occasioned great mis- 
chiefs; so that it is more for the advantage of Gon’s true 
religion to put to death one of those who utter such things 
than to bestow life on ten others.” # 


1 Poe. Spec., p. 267. 3 Vide ibid., art. Bastham. 
2 Vide D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., * Al Ghazdli, apud Poe. Spec., 
art. Hallage. ubi sup. 


SEC. VII.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 269 


Thus far have we treated of the chief sects among the Main points 
Muhammadans of the first ages, omitting to say anything perverts 
Shiahs and 
of the more modern sects, because she same are taken the Sunnis. 
little or no notice of by their own writers, and would be 
of no use to our present design.1 It may be proper, how- 
ever, to mention a word or two of the great schism at this 
day subsisting between the Sunnis and the Shiahs, or 
partisans of Ali, and maintained on either side with im- 
placable hatred and furious zeal, Though the difference 
arose at first on a political occasion, it has, notwithstand- 
ing, been so well improved by additional circumstances 
and the spirit of contradiction, that each party detest and 
anathematise the other as abominable heretics, and farther 
from the truth than either the Christians or the Jews.” 
The chief points wherein they differ are—1. That the 
Shiahs reject Abu Bagr, Omar, and Othman, the three 
first Khalifahs, as usurpers and intruders; whereas the 
Sunnis acknowledge and respect them as rightful Imams, 
2. The Shiahs prefer Ali to Muhammad, or at least esteem 
them both equal, but the Sunnis admit neither Ali nor 
any of the prophets to be equal to Muhammad. 3. The 
Sunnis charge the Shfahs with corrupting the Quran 
and neglecting its precepts, and the Shiahs retort the 
same charge on the Sunnis. 4. The Sunnis receive the 
Sunnat, or bock of traditions of their prophet, as of cano- 
nical authority, whereas the Shiahs reject it as apocry- 
phal and unworthy of credit. And to these disputes, and 
some others of less moment, is principally owing the anti- 
pathy which has long reigned between the Turks, who are 
Sunnis, and the Persians, who are of the sect of Ali. It 
seems strange that Spinoza, had he known of no other 
schism among the Muhammadans, should yet never have 
heard of one so publicly notorious as this between the 
Turks and Persians; but it is plain he did not, or he would 


1 The reader may meet with some 2 Vide ibid., c. 10, and Chardin, 
account of them in Ricaut’s State of Voy. de Perse, tin2, .pp-@1006 176, 
the Ottoman Empire, l, 2, ¢, 12. &e, 


270 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VIII. 


never have assigned it as the reason of his preferring the 
order of the Muhammadan Church to that of the Roman, : 
that there have arisen no schisms in the former since its 


birth.+ 

noe As success in any project seldom fails to draw in 

phets. imitators, Muhammad’s having raised himself to such a 
degree of power and reputation by acting the prophet 
induced others to imagine they might arrive at the same 
height by the same means. His most considerable com- 
petitors in the prophetic office were Musailama and al 
Aswad, whom the Muhammadans usually call “the two 
liars” 

Claim of , The former was of the tribe of Hunaifa, who inhabited 

oan the province of Yamama, and a principal man among 


office. them. He headed an embassy sent by his tribe to Mu- 
hammad in the ninth year of the Hijra, and professed 
himself a Muslim;? but on his return home, considering 
that he might possibly share with Muhammad in his 
power, the next year he set up for a prophet also, pre- 
tending to be joined with him in the commission to recall 
mankind from idolatry to the worship of the true Gop ;? 
and he published written revelations in imitation of the 
Quran, of which Abulfaragius* has preserved the follow- 
ing passage, viz.: “Now hath Gop been gracious unto 
her that was with child, and hath brought forth from 
her the soul which runneth between the peritonzeum and 
the bowels.” Musailama, having formed a considerable 
party among those of Hunaifa, began to think himself 
upon equal terms with Muhammad, and sent him a letter, 
offermg to go halves with him,® in these words: “From 





' The words of Spinoza are:— quo tempore hec superstitio incepit, 
“Ordinem Romane ecclesie—poli- nulla in eorum ecclesia schismata 
ticum et plurimis lucrosum esse orta sunt.” Opera Posth., p. 613. 
fateor; nec ad decipiendam plebem, 2 Abulfed., p. 160.: 


et hominum animos coercendum 3 Idem, Elmac., p. 9. 
commodiorem isto crederem, ni ordo 4 Hist. Dynast., p. 164. 
Mahumedanz ecclesie esset, qui > Abulfed., ubi sup. 


longé eundem antecellit. Nam a& 


SEC. VIII.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. Sos 


Musailama the apostle of Gop, to Muhammad the apostle 
of Gop. Now let the earth be half mine and half thine.” 
But Muhammad, thinking himself too well established 
to need a partner, wrote him this answer: “From Mu- 
hammad the apostle of Gop, to Musailama the liar. The 
earth is Gop’s: he giveth the same for inheritance unto 
such of his servants as he pleaseth; and the happy 
issue shall attend those who fear him.”! During the 
few months which Muhammad lived after this revolt, 
Musailama rather gained than lost ground, and grew very 
formidable; but Abu Baqr, his successor, in the eleventh 
year of the Hijra, sent a great army against him, under 
the command of that consummate general, Khalid Ibn 
al Walid, who engaged Musailama in a bloody battle, 
wherein the false prophet, happening to be slain by 
Wahsha, the necro slave who had killed Hamza at Ohod, 
and by the same lance,? the Muslims gained an entire 
victory, ten thousand of the apostates being left dead on 
the spot, and the rest returning to Muhammadism.? 

' Al Aswad, whose name was Aihala, was of the tribe 


Al Aswad 


the second 


of Ans, and governed that and the other tribes of Arabs ot “the 


descended from Madhhaj.4 This man was likewise an 
apostate from Muhammadism, and set up for himself the 
very year that Muhammad died.® He was surnamed 
Dhuw’1 Hamar, or the master of the asses, because he used 
frequently to say, “ The master of the asses is coming unto 
me;”® and pretended to receive his revelations from two 
angels, named Suhaiq and Shuraiq.? Having a good 
hand at legerdemain and a smooth tongue, he gained 
mightily on the multitude by the strange feats which he 
showed them and the eloquence of his discourse;® by 
these means he greatly increased his power, and having 





1 Al Baidhdwi, in Quran, c. 5. 4 Al Suhaili, apud Gagnier, in 
2 Abulfed., ubi sup. not. ad Abulf. Vit. Moh., p. 158. 
3 Tdem, ibid. ; Abulfarag, p. 173; 5 Elmac., p. 9. 

Elmac., p. 16, &c. See Ockley’s 6 Abulfeda, ubi sup. 

Hist. of the Saracens, vol. i. p. 15, 7 Al Suhaili, ubi sup. 

&e. 8 Abulfeda, ubi sup. 


two liars.” 


e72 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. [SEC. VIII. 


made himself master of Najran and the territory of al 
Tayif, on the death of Badhan, the governor of Yaman for 
Muhammad, he seized that province also, killing Shahr, 
the son of Badhan, and taking to wife his widow, whose 
father, the uncle of Firtiz the Dailamite, he had also 
slain.* This news being brought to Muhammad, he sent 
to his friends and to those of Hamdan, a party of whom, 
conspiring with Qais Ibn Abd al Yaghith, who bore al — 
Aswad a grudge, and with Firuz and al Aswad’s wife, 
broke by night into his house, where Firtz surprised him 
and cut off his head. While he was despatching he 
roared like a bull; at which his guards came to the 
chamber door, but were sent away by his wife, who told 
them the prophet was only agitated by the divine inspira- 
tion. This. was done the very night before Muhammad 
died. The next morning the conspirators caused the fol- 
lowing proclamation to be made, viz., “I bear witness 
that Muhammad is the apostle of Gop, and that Aihala 
is a liar;” and letters were immediately sent away to 
Muhammad, with an account of what had been done; 
but a messenger from heaven. outstripped them, and 
acquainted the prophet with the news, which he imparted 
to his companions but a little before his death, the 
letters themselves not arriving till Abu Baqr was chosen 
Khalifah. It is said that Muhammad, on this occasion, 
told those who attended him that before the day of judg- 
ment thirty more impostors, besides Musailama and al 
Aswad, should appear, and every one of them set up for 
a prophet. The whole time, from the beginning of al 
Aswad’s rebellion to his death, was about four months.? 

In the same eleventh year of the Hijra, but after the 
death of Muhammad, as seems most probable, Tulaiha 
Ibn Khuwailid set up for a prophet, and Sajaj Bint al 
Mundar¢ for a prophetess. 





1 Abulfeda et Elmacinus, ubi sup. 2 Idem, al Janndbi, ubi sup. 
3 Idem, ibid. 
4 Ibn Sholmah and Elmacinus call her the daughter of al Hérith. 


SEC. VIL] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 273 


Tulaiha was of the tribe of Asad, which adhered to Tulaiha ana 
him, together with great numbers of the tribes of Ghatfan ae 
and Tay. Against them likewise was Khalid sent, who 
engaged and put them to flight, obiging Tulaiha with his 
shattered troops to retire into Syria, where he stayed till 
the death of Abu Baqr; then he went to Omar and 
embraced Muhammadism in his presence, and having 
taken the oath of fidelity to him, returned to his own 
country and people.t 

Sajaj, surnamed Omm Sadir, was of the tribe of Tamim, 

and the wife of Abu Qahdala, a soothsayer of Yamama. 
She was followed not only by those of her own tribe, but 
by several others. Thinking a prophet the most proper 
husband for her, she went to Musailama, and married 
him; but after she had stayed with him three days, she 
left him and returned home.2, What became of her after- 
wards I do not find. Ibn Shohnah has given us part of 
the conversation which passed at the interview between 
those two pretenders to inspiration, but the same is a 
little too immodest to be translated. 

in succeeding ages several impostors from time to time 
started up, most of whom quickly came to nothmg, but 
some made a considerable figure, and propagated sects 
which continued long after their decease. I shall give 
a brief account of the most remarkable of them in order 
of time. 

In the reign of al Mahdi, the third Khalifah of the race Hakim 1p 
of al Abbas, one Hakim Ibn Hasham? originally of Mert and hist 
in Khurasén, who had been an under-secretary to Abu ay 
Muslim, the governor of that province, and afterwards 
turned soldier, passed thence into Mawaralnahr, where he 
gave himself out for a prophet. He is generally named 
by the Arab writers al Mukanna, and sometimes al Burkai, 
that is, “the veiled,” because he used to cover his face with 


1 Elmacinus, p. 16; al Baidhdéwi, in Qurdn, c. 5. 
2 Ibn Shohnah. Vide Elmacinus, p. 16. 
3 Or Ibn Atd, according to Ibn Shohnah. 


274 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  [SEc. vill. 


a veil or a gilded mask, to conceal his deformity, having 
lost an eye in the wars, and being otherwise of a despicable 
appearance ; though his followers pretended he did it for 
the same reason as Moses did, viz., lest the splendour of 
his countenance should dazzle the eyes of the beholders, 
He made a great many proselytes at Nakhshab and Kash, 
deluding the people with several juggling performances, 
which they swallowed for miracles, and particularly by 
causing the appearance of a moon to rise out of a well for 
many nights together; whence he was also called, in the 
Persian tongue, Sazindah-mah, or the moonmaker. This 
impious impostor, not content with being reputed a pro- 
phet, arrogated divine honours to himself, pretending that 
the deity resided in his person ; and the doctrine whereon 
he built this was the same with that of the Ghulaites above 
mentioned, who affirmed a transmigration or successive 
manifestation of the divinity through and in certain pro- 
phets and holy men, from Adam to these latter days (of 
which opinion was also Abu Muslim himself); but the 
particular doctrine of al Mukanna was that the person in 
whom the deity had last resided was the aforesaid Abu 
Muslim, and that the same had, since his death, passed 
into himself. The faction of al Mukanna, who had made 
himself master of several fortified places in the neighbour- 
hood of the cities above mentioned, growing daily more 
and more powerful, the Khalifah was at length obliged to 
send an army to reduce him, at the approach whereof al 
Mukanna retired into one of his strongest fortresses, which 
he had well provided for a siege, and sent his emissaries 
abroad to persuade people that he raised the dead to life 
and knew future events. But being straitly besieged by 
the Khalifah’s forces, when he found there was no possi- 
bility for him to escape, he gave poison in wine to his 
whole family, and all that were with him in the castle; 


1This explains a doubt of Mr. and corrected by Bespier. Vide 
Bayle concerning a passage of El- Bayle, Dic. Hist., art, Abumuslimus, 
macinus, as translated by Erpenius vers la fin, et Rem. B. 


SEG. Vil.j; THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. a5 


and when they were dead he burnt their bodies, together 
with their clothes, and all the provisions and cattle; and 
then, to prevent his own body being found, he threw 
himself into the flames, or, as others say, into a tub of 
aquafortis, or some other preparation, which consumed 
every part of him, except only his hair, so that when the 
besiegers entered the place they found no creature in it, 
save one of al Mukanna’s concubines, who, suspecting his 
design, had hid herself, and discovered the whole matter. 
This contrivance, however, failed not to produce the effect 
which the impostor designed among the remaining part of 
his followers; for he had promised them that his soul 
should transmigrate into the form of a grey-headed man 
riding on a greyish beast, and that after so many years he 
would return to them, and give them the earth for their 
possession: the expectation of which promise kept the 
sect in being for several ages after under the name of 
Mubayyidites, or, as the Persians call them, Safaid jamah- 
ohian, 1.¢., the clothed in white, because they wore their 
garments of that colour, in opposition, as is supposed, to 
the Khalifahs of the family of Abbas, whose banners and 
habits were black. The historians place the death of al 
Mukanna in the 162d or 163d year of the Hijra.? 


In the year of the Hijra 201, Babik, surnamed al Khur- Banik ana 


rami and Khurramdin, either because he was of a certain 
district near Ardaibil in Adhairbijan called Khurram, or 
because he instituted a merry religion, which is the signi- 
fication of the word in Persian, began to take on him the 
title of a prophet. I do not find what doctrine he taucht, 
but it is said he professed none of the religions then known 
in Asia. He gained a great number of devotees in Adhair- 
bijan and the Persian Iraq, and grew powerful enouch to 
wage war with the Khalifah al Mamun, whose troops he 





1 They were a sect in the days of 2Ex Abulfarag, Hist. Dyn., p. 


Abulfaragius, who lived about five 226; Lobb al Tawdrikh Ibn Shoh- 


hundred years after this extraordi- nah, al Tabari, and Khondamir. 
nary event, and may, for aught I Vide D’Herbel., Bibl. Orient., art. 
know, be so still. Hakim Ben Haschem. 


his cruelties 


276 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  [SEc. VuI 


often beat, killing several of his generals, and one of them 
with his own hand; and by these victories he became so 
formidable that al Mutasim, the successor of al Mamun, 
was obliged to employ the forces of the whole empire 
against him. The general sent to reduce Babik was 
Afshid, who having overthrown him in battle, took his 
castles one after another with invincible patience, not- 
withstanding the rebels gave him great annoyance, and 
at last shut up the impostor in his principal fortress ; 
which being taken, Babik found means to escape thence 
in disguise, with some of his family and principal fol- 
lowers; but taking refuge in the territories of the Greeks, 
was betrayed in the following manner. Sahel, an Armenian 
officer, happening to know Babik, enticed him, by offers 
of service and respect, into his power, and treated him 
as a mighty prince, till, when he sat down to eat, Sahel 
clapped himself down by him; at which Babik being 
surprised, asked him how he dared to take that hberty 
unasked? “It is true, great king,” replied Sahel, “I have 
committed a fault; for who am I, that I should sit at 
your majesty’s table?” And immediately sending for a 
smith, he made use of this bitter sarcasm, “ Stretch forth 
your legs, creat king, that this man may put fetters on 
them.” After this Sahel sent him to Afshid, though he 
had offered a large sum for his liberty, having first served 
him in his own kind by causing his mother, sister, and 
wife to be ravished before his face; for so Babik used to 
treat his prisoners. Afshid having the arch-rebel in his 
power, conducted him to al Mutasim, by whose order he 
was put to an ignominious and cruel death. This man 
had maintained his ground against the power of the 
Khalifahs for twenty years, and had cruelly put to death 
above two hundred and fifty thousand people, it being 
his custom never to spare man, woman, or child, either 
of the Muhammadans or their allies! The sectaries of 





1 Ex Abulfarag, p. 252, &c.; Elmacinus, p. 141, &c., and Khondamir. 
Vide D’Herbel., art. Babik. 


SEC Viil.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. me 


Babik which remained after his death seem to have been 
entirely dispersed, there being little or no mention made 
of them by historians. 

About the year 235, one Mahmud Ibn Faraj pretended 
to be Moses resuscitated, and played his part so well that.” 
several people believed on him, and attended him when 
he was brought before the Khalifah al Mutawaqqil. That 
prince, having been an ear-witness of his extravagant dis- 
courses, condemned him to receive ten buffets from every 
one of his followers, and then to be drubbed to death; 
which was accordingly executed; and his disciples were 
imprisoned till they came to their right minds.? 

The Karmatians, a sect which bore an inveterate malice 
against the Muhammadans, began first to raise disturb- 
ances in the year of the Hijra 278, and the latter end 
of the reign of al Mutamid. Their origin is not well 
known, but the common tradition is that a poor fellow, 
whom some call Karmata, came from Khuzistan to the 
villages near Kiufa, and there feigned great sanctity and 
strictness of life, and that Gop had enjoined him to pray 
fifty times a day, pretending also to invite people to 
the obedience of a certain Imam of the family of Muham- 
mad; and this way of life he continued till he had made 
a very great party, out. of whom he chose twelve, as his 
apostles, to govern the rest and to propagate his doctrines. 
But the governor of the province, finding men neglected 
their work, and their husbandry in particular, to say those 
fifty prayers a day, seized the fellow, and having put him 
into prison, swore that he should die; which being over- 
heard by a girl belonging to the governor, she, pitying the 
man, at night took the key of the dungeon from under 
her master’s head as he slept, and having let the prisoner 
out, returned the key to the place whence she had it. 
The next morning the governor found the bird flown, and 
the accident being publicly known, raised great admira- 





1 Ibn Shohnah, Vide D’Herbel., p. 537. 


er mud 
bn Faraj. 


The Karma- 
tians and 
their 
founder. 


Doctrines 
and prac- 
tices. 


278 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. | [SEC. VII. 


tion, his adherents giving it out that Gop had taken him 
into heaven. Afterwards he appeared in another pro- 
vince, and declared to a great number of people he had 
got about him that it was not in the power of any to do 
him hurt; notwithstanding which, his courage failing him, 
he retired into Syria, and was not heard of any more. 
His sect, however, continued and increased, pretending 
that their master had manifested himself to be a true 
prophet, and had left them a new law, wherein he had 
changed the ceremonies and form of prayer used by the 
Muslims, and introduced a new kind of fast, and that 
he had also allowed them to drink wine, and dispensed 
with several things commanded in the Quran. .They also 
turned the precepts of that book into allegory, teaching 
that prayer was the symbol of obedience to their _ Imam, 
and fasting that of silence, or concealing their dogmas 
from strangers: they also believed fornication to be the 
sin of infidelity, and the guilt thereof to be incurred by 
those who revealed the mysteries of their religion or paid 
not a blind obedience to their chief. They are said to 
have produced a book wherein was written (among other 
things), “In the name of the most merciful Gop. Al 
Faraj Ibn Othman of the town of Nasrdna saith that 
Christ appeared unto him in a human form and said, 
‘Thou art the invitation: thou art the demonstration: 
thou art the camel: thou art the beast: thou art John 
the son of Zacharias: thou art the Holy Ghost.’”! From 
the year above mentioned the Karmatians, under several 
leaders, gave almost continual disturbance to the Khali- 
fahs and their Muhammadan subjects for several years, 
committing great disorders and outrages in Chaldea, Arabia, 
Syria, and Mesopotamia, and at length establishing a con- 
siderable principality, the power whereof was in its meri- 
dian in the reign of Abu Dhahir, famous for his taking of 
Makkah, and the indignities by him offered to the temple 





1 Apud Abulfarag, p. 275. 


SEC. VIll.]| THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. Pi. 2279 


there, but which declined soon after his time and came to 
nothing.t | 

To the Karmatians the Ismatlians of Asia were very The Ismail- 
near of kin, if they were nota branch of them. For these,” 
who were also called al Mulahidah, or the Impious, and 
by the writers of the history of the holy wars, Assassins, 
agreed with the former in many respects; such as their 
inveterate malice against those of other religions, and 
especially the Muhammadans, their unlimited obedience 
to their prince, at whose command they were ready for 
assassinations, or any other bloody and dangerous enter- 
prise, their pretended attachment to a certain Imam of the 
house of Ah, &. These Ismailians in the year 483 pos- 
sessed themselves of al Jabal, in the Persian Iraq, under 
the conduct of Hasan Sabah, and that prince and his 
descendants enjoyed the same for a hundred and seventy- 
one years, till the whole race of them was destroyed by 
Holagu the Tartar.” 

The Batinites, which name is also given to the Ismail- 
ians by some authors, and likewise to the Karmatians, 
were a sect which professed the same abominable prin- 
ciples, and were dispersed over several parts of the Hast. 

The word signifies Esoterics, or people of inward or hidden 
light or knowledge. 

Abwl1 Tayyab Ahmad, surnamed al Mutanabbi, of the apuitay- 
tribe of Jéufa, is too famous on another account not to Maecrerre 
claim a place here. He was one of the most excellent “°™ 
poets among the Arabians, there being none besides Abu 
Tamam who can dispute the prize with him. His poetical 
inspiration was so warm and exalted that he either 
mistook it, or thought he could persuade others to believe 
it, to be prophetical, and therefore gave himself out to be 


1 Ex Abulfar., ibid. ; Elmacin., p. 3 Vide Elmacin., pp. 174 and 286; 
174, &c. ; Ibn Shohnah, Khondamir. D’Herbel., p. 194. 
Vide D’Herbel., art. Carmath. 4 Vide Abulfar., pp. 361, 374, 380, 
2 Abulfar., p. 505, &c. ; D’Herbel., 483. 
PP. 104, 437, 505, 620, and 784. 


Baba and 
his sect. 


280 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. _ [SEC. VIII. 


a prophet indeed, and thence acquired his surname, by 
which he is generally known. His accomplishments were 
too great not to have some success; for several tribes 
of the Arabs of the deserts, particularly that of Qalab, 
acknowledged him to be what he pretended. But Lulu, 
governor in those parts for Akhshid, king of Egypt and 
Syria, soon put a stop to the further progress of this new 
sect by imprisoning their prophet and obliging him to 
renounce his chimerical dignity; which having done, he 
regained his lberty, and apphed himself solely to his 
poetry, by means whereof he got very considerable 
riches, being in high esteem at the courts of several 
princes. Al Mutanabbi lost his life, together with his 
son, on the bank of the Tigris, in defending the money 
which had been given him by Adad-ud-Daula, sultan of 
Persia, against some Arabian robbers who demanded it of 
him, with which money he was returning to Kufa, his | 
native city. This accident happened in the year 354.1 
The last pretender to prophecy I shall now take notice 
of is one who appeared in the city of Amasia, in Natolia, 
in the year 638, and by his wonderful feats seduced a 
great multitude of people there. He was by nation a 
Turkman, and called himself Baba, and had a disciple 
called Isaac, whom he sent about to invite those of his 
own nation to join him. Isaac accordingly, coming to the 
territory of Sumaisat, published his commission, and pre- 
vailed on many to embrace his master’s sect, especially 
among the Turkmans; so that at last he had six thousand 
horse at his heels, besides foot. With these Baba and his 
disciple made open war on all who would not cry out 
with them, “There is no Gop but Gop; Baba is the 
apostle of Gop;” and they put great numbers of Muham- 
madans as well as Christians to the sword in those parts, 
till at length both Muhammadans and Christians, joining 
together, gave them battle, and having entirely routed 


1 Preef. in Opera Motanabbis MS. Vide D’Herbel. p. 638, &e. 


SEC. VII.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. or 


them, put them all to the sword, except their two chiefs, 
who being taken alive, had their heads struck off by the 
executioner.1 

I could mention several other impostors of the same 
kind which have arisen among the Muhammadans since 
their prophet’s time, and very near enough to complete 
the number foretold by him; but I apprehend the reader 
is by this time tired as well as myself, and shall, there- 
fore, here conclude this discourse, which may be thought 
already too long for an introduction.* 





‘ * The Wahhabis of Arabia and India have figured too prominently 
in history and still exercise too powerful an influence upon Isl4m to 
justify the omission of any mention of them in a work like this; 
accordingly we add the following account of this sect, taken by per- 
mission from Hughes’ Notes on Muhammadanism, second edition :— 

“This sect was founded by Muhammad, son of Abdul Wahhab, 
but as their opponents could not call them Muhammadans, they have 
been distinguished by the name of the us of the founder of their 
sect, and are called Wahhabis. — 

Shekh Muhammad was born at Ayina, a village in the province 
of Arad, in the country of Najd, in the year a.p. 1691. Having 
been carefully instructed in the tenets of the Muslim religion 
according to the teachings of the Hambali sect, he in due time left 
his native place, in company with his father, to perform the pil- 
crimage to Mecca. At Madina he was instructed by Shekh Abdullah- 
ibn-Ibrahim of Najd, and it is supposed that whilst sitting at the 
feet of this celebrated teacher the son of Abdul Wahhab first realised 
how far the rigid lines of Islam had been stretched, almost to break- 
ing, in the endeavour to adapt its stern principles to the supersti- 
tions of idolatrous Arabia. He accompanied his father to Harimala, 
and after his father’s death he returned to his native village of 
Ayina, where he assumed the position of a religious teacher. His 
teaching met with acceptance, and he soon acquired so great an 
influence over the people of those parts that the Governor of Hassa 
compelled him to leave the district, and the reformer found a friendly 
asylum in Deraiah, under the protection of Muhammad-ibn-Saud, a 
chief of considerable influence, who made the protection of Ibn- 
Abdul-Wahhab a pretext for war with the Shekh of Hassa. Ibn 


1 Abulfarag, p. 479; Ibn Shohnah ; D’Herbel., art. Baba. 


282 THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.  [sECc. VIII. 


Saud married the daughter of Ibn-Abdul-Wahhab, and established 
in his family the Wahhabi dynasty, which, after a chequered exist- 
ence of more than a hundred years, still exists in the person of the 
Wahhabi chief at Ryadh.! 

“The whole of Eastern Arabia has embraced the reformed doctrines 
of the Wahhabis, and Mr. Palgrave, in his account of his travels in 
those parts, has given an interesting sketch of the Wahhabi religion- 
ists, although he is not always correct as to the distinctive principles 
of their religious creed. 

“In the great Wahhabi revival, political interests were united with 
religious reform, as was the case in the great Puritan struggle in 
England, and the Wahh4bis soon pushed their conquests over the 
whole of Arabia. In A.D. 1803 they conquered Mecca and Madina, 
and for many years threatened the subjugation of the whole Turkish 
Empire; but in A.D. 1811, Muhammad Ali, the celebrated Pasha of 
Egypt, commenced a war against the Wahh4bis, and soon recovered 
Mecca and Madina; and in 1818 his son, Ibrahim Pasha, totally 
defeated Abdullah, the Wahh4bi leader, and sent him a prisoner to 
Constantinople, where he was executed in the public square of St. 
Sophia, December 19, 1818. But although the temporal power of 
the Wahh4bis has been subdued, they still continue secretly to pro- 
pagate their peculiar tenets, and in the present day there are numer- 
ous disciples of the sect, not only in Arabia but in Turkey and India. 
It isa movement which has influenced religious thought in every 
part of Isl4m.” 

After giving a brief account of the Wahhdbi movement in India, 
under the leadership of Sayyid Ahmad, who was slain in battle by 
the Sikh general Sher Singh at Bdlakot in 1831, our author de- 
scribes the tenets of the Wahhabi faith as follows :— 

‘1, They do not receive the decisions of the four orthodox sects, 
but say that any man who can read and understand the Qurdn and 
the sacred Hadis can judge for himself in matters of doctrine. 
They therefore reject Jjma? after the death of the companions of 
the Prophet. 

‘5, That no one but God can know the secrets of men, and that 
prayers should not be offered to any prophet, Wali, Pir, or Saint ; 
but that God may be asked to grant a petition for the sake of a saint. 


1 The following are the names of 
the Wahhdbi chiefs from the estab- 
lishment of the dynasty :—Muham- 
mad -ibn-Saud, died A.D. 17653 
Abdul - Aziz, assassinated 1803; 
Saud-ibn-Abdul Aziz, died 1814; 
Abdullah-ibn-Saud, beheaded 1818 ; 


Turki, assassinated 1830; Fayzul, 
died 1866; Abdullah, still living. © 

2 By Jjma is meant “the unani- 
mous consent of the learned doc- 
tors’’=‘‘the unanimous consent of 
the Fathers.” 


SEC. Vill.] THE PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 5283 


“3. That at the last day Muhammad will obtain permission (cz) 
of God to intercede for his people. The Sunnis believe that per- 
mission has already been given. 

“4. That it is unlawful to illuminate the shrines of departed 
saints, or to prostrate before them, or to perambulate (tawd/) round 
them. 

“5. That women should not be allowed to visit the graves of the 
dead on account of their immoderate weeping. 

“6. That only four festivals ought to be observed, namely, ’Id- 
ul-Fitr, Id-ul-Azh4, ’Ashtrda, and Shab-i-Barét. 

“7, They do not observe the ceremonies of Maulid, which are 
celebrated on the anniversary of Muhammad’s birth. 

“8. They do not present offerings (nazr) at any shrine. 

“9, They count the ninety-nine names of God on their fingers, 
and not on a rosary. 

“to, They understand the terms ‘sitting of God’ and ‘hand of 
God,’ which occur in the Quran, in their literal (haqiqi) sense, and 
not figuratively (majazz) ; but, at the same time, they say it is not 
revealed how God sits, or in what sense he has a hand, &c.” 

From this description it therefore appears that Wahhdabiism is 
Muslim Protestantism. It rejects everything contrary to the teach- 
ing of the Quran and the Hadis, or inspired sayings of Muhammad. 
It asserts the right of private judgment in the interpretation of 
Scripture. Yet how different from Christian Protestantism! This 
delivers man from the thraldom of a priestcraft born of the dark 
ages of Christianity, and sweeps away that accumulation of error 
which had hidden for centuries the light of that Gospel which 
guides the world to wisdom founded on the fear of God, to civilisa- 
tion based on human freedom and brotherly love. But Wahhd4bitism, 
whilst reforming the religion of Isl4m, would sweep away the 
civilisation and learning which have been added to a narrow and 
imperfect faith, and carry the world back “to the dark age of the 
Arabian Prophet,” and keep it there to the end of time. 

E. M. W. 





- » t 


THE QURAN. 


. 








THE OURAN. 


CHAPTER I. 
ENTITLED SURAT UL FATIHAT (THE PREFACE). 


Revealed at Makkah. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE chapters of the Qurdn are entitled Suras. Muir, in his Lefe 
of Mahomet, Introduction, p. 7, says, “Weil has a learned note 
(Mohammed, p. 361) on the meaning of the word Sura as used by 
Mahomet. It was probably at first employed to designate any 
portion of his revelation, or a string of verses ; but it soon afterwards, 
even during Mahomet’s lifetime, acquired its present technical 
meaning.” 

This chapter is held in the highest esteem among all Muslims, 
“who,” says Sale, “give it several other honourable titles; as the 
chapter of prayer, of pracse, of thanksgiving, of treasure, &c. They 
esteem it as the quintessence of the whole Quran, and often repeat 
it in their devotions, both public and private, as the Christians do 
the Lord’s Prayer.” 

The author of the Tafsir-1-Raufi declares that “he who has read 
the Fdtihat has, as it were, read the whole Quran.” According to 
this author, its separate clauses contain the sum of the divine attri- 
butes, ascriptions of praise, promises to believers, and threatenings of 
judgment against infidels, &c., as contained in the Qurén. Mus- 
lims always say Amen after this prayer. 

The following transliteration will give the English reader an idea 
of the rhyming prose in which the Quran is written :— 


CHAP, I.]= Cy 258m [INTROD. 


“ Bismillé-hi’rahmdéni’rrahim, 
Al-hamdtlilléhi Rabbilélumin, 
Arrahméni’rrahim ; 

Maliki yomi-d-din. 

Iydéka Ndbaidt, waiydka nastdin. 
Thdina’ssirdt al mistakim ; 

Sirdt alazina au nidmta alaihim, 
Ghairi-’1-méghdhabi alaihim waladhdlina.” 


Muir regards this as the daily prayer of Muhammad during his 
search for light, previous to his assumption of the prophetic office. 
“Tt was afterwards recast to suit the requirements of public worship.” 
—TLnfe of Mahomet, vol. i. p. 59. 

Muslims are here met with a difficulty as to. the divine author- 
ship of their Scriptures, arising out of the form of address in this 
chapter. The orthodox belief in regard to the origin of the Quran 
is that it was copied literally from the divine original, which is 
engraved on the Luh-i-Mahfaz, or Preserved Table close by the throne 
of God. The speaker throughout is God. It is God’s Word. But 
this chapter contains a prayer apparently suitable for sinful men 
groping after divine light and heavenly guidance. As the text 
stands, the chapter clearly claims a human origin, and would express 
very well the desire of the Makkan reformer. Muslim commentators, 
however, avoid this difficulty by explaining this chapter as an inspired 
model of prayer, revealed to instruct the faithful how to pray, and 
they understand it as introduced by the word “say.” Abdul Qadir 
says, “God has enunciated this chapter in the language of his servants, 
in order that they might thus address him.” 

To us it seems that in the mind of a Muhammadan, boasting of 
the absolute perfection and purity of the text of Are! Quran, aed 
stickling for the very jots and tittles of the text, the omission of 
this word—a word without which the status of this whole chapter 
is changed—should arouse serious objection to such a mode of ayoid- 
ing a difficulty. 

As to the prayer itself, the Christian reader cannot but admire 
its spirit. It is throughout earnest and devout. Interpreting its 
language in a Christian manner, any one might respond to it 
¥) Amen.” 

Supposing this prayer to express the feelings and aspirations of 
the Makkan reformer at the time it was written, we could hardly 
regard him as a deliberate impostor. Had he continued his search 
after truth in the spirit of this prayer, how different would have 
been his religion from that which he proclaimed in later years ! 

Concerning the formula, “In the name of the most merciful God,” 
Savary says, “It is prefixed to all the chapters (with the exception 


SIPARA I.] (289) [CHAP. I. 


of one’. It is expressly recommended in the Quran. The Muham- 
madans pronounce it whenever they slaughter an animal, and at the 
commencement of their reading, and of allimportant actions. Giaab, 
one of their celebrated authors, says that when these words were 
sent down from heaven, the clouds fled on the side of the east, the 
winds were lulled, the sea was moved, the animals erected their ears 
to listen, and the devils were precipitated from the celestial spheres.” 

It is almost certain that Muhammad borrowed the idea of the 
Bismillah from the Jews and Sabains, The latter introduced their 
writings with the words, “ Bandm i yazdan bakhshaishgar dadar,” 
1.€., In the name of God the merciful and the just. 

Rodwell says, “This formula is of Jewish origin. It was in the 
first instance taught to the Koreisch by Omayah of Taief, the poet, 
who was a contemporary with, but somewhat older than, Muham- 
mad, and who, during his mercantile journeys into Arabia Petrea 
and Syria, had made himself acquainted with the sacred books and 
doctrines of Jews and Christians. Muhammad adopted and con- 
stantly used it.” 

The two terms, “‘ Rahman,” the merciful, and “ Rahim,” the blessed, 
have nearly the same meaning, The Tafsir-i-Raufi explains the 
former as only applicable to God, while the latter may be applied to 
the creature as well as to God. Others explain the former epithet as 
applicable to God as exercising mercy towards his creatures, the 
latter assapplicable to the mercy inherent in God. 


IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. 


| (1) Praise be to Gop, the Lorp of all creatures ; (2) 
the most merciful, (3) the king of the day of judgment. 
(4) Thee do we worship, and of thee do we beg assistance. 
(5) Direct us in the right way, (6) in the way of those 





(1) Lord of all creatures. “The original words are Rabbi’ldlamina, 
which literally signify, Zord of the worlds, but dlamina, in this 
and other places of the Quran, properly means the three species of 
rational creatures, men, gen, and angels.”—Sade. Savary translates 
it, ‘Sovereign of the worlds.” Rodwell has it, “Lord of worlds.” 
Abdul Qadir of Delhi has it, ‘Lord of the whole world.” In the 
Persian translation it is rendered ‘‘ Cherisher of the worlds.” 

(5-7) “This last sentence,” says Sale, “contains a petition that 
God would lead the supplicant into the true religion, by which is 
meant the Mubhammadan, in the Quran often called the right way; 

dh 


First 
MANZIL. 


First 
SIPARA,. 


Ri 


CHAP. I.] ( 7200/2) [SIPARA I. 


to whom thou hast been gracious; (7) not of those against 
whom thou art incensed, nor of those who go astray. 


in this place more particularly defined to be the way of those to whom 
God hath been gracious, that is, of the prophets and faithful who 
preceded Muhammad ; under which appellations are also compre- 
hended the Jews and Christians, such as they were in the times of 
their primitive purity, before they had deviated from their respective 
institutions ; not the way of the modern Jews, whose signal calamities 
are marks of the just anger of God against them for their obstinacy 
and disobedience; nor of the Christians of this age, who have departed 
from the true doctrine of Jesus, and are bewildered in a labyrinth 
of error (Jalaluddin, Baidhawi, &c.) This is the common exposi- 
tion of the passage, though al Zamakhshari and some others, by a 
different application of the negatives, refer the whole to the true 
believers, and then the sense will run thus: The way of those to 
whom thou hast been gracious, against whom thou art not incensed, and 
who have not erred, which translation the original will very well 
bear,” 

These two views really coincide, inasmuch as the claim of Islam 
is that all true believers among Jews and Christians were Muslims. 

Abdul Qadir says that by these words we are to understand four 
classes—the prophets, the righteous, the martyrs, and the good ; 
and by “those against whom God is incensed,” the Jews are indicated ; 
and if any other class be included, it is that of the Nazarenes. 


INTROD. | C eon [CHAP. IT, 


NS 


CHAPTER II. 
ENTITLED SURAT UL BAQR (THE COW). 


fevealed partly at Makkah and partly at Madina. 


INTRODUCTION. 


“THE title of this chapter was occasioned by the story of the red 
heifer ” (in vers. 66-7 3).—Sale. 

“Tn this Sura are collected the passages composed in the first two 
or three years of Mahomet’s stay at Medina. The greater part 
relates to the Jews, with biblical and rabbinical stories, notice of 
the change of the Kibla, &c. The disaffected citizens are also de- 
nounced in it. -There is likewise much matter of a legislative 
character, produced during the first Medina stage, with additions 
and interpolations from the revelations of later stages.” —Muir’s 
Life of Mahomet, vol. iii., Appendix. 

The following is a brief analysis of this chapter, based for the 
most part on Noeldeke’s Origine et Compositione Surarum Quran- 
carum ipsiusque Quradni, showing Makkan and Madina revelations, 
probable date of composition, and principal topics treated. 


Makkan Revelations. 


These are found in verses 21-38, 164-172, and probably 254-257, 
285, and 286. They belong to the period of Muhammad’s misszon 
previous to the Hijra. 


Madina Revelations. 


These make up the bulk of the chapter, and are found in verses , 
I-20, 39-153, 173-253, and 258-284. 

As to the date of composition, verses I-20, 39-153, 173-185, 203- 
253, and 258-284, belong to the interval between the Hijra and 
the early part of a.H. 2. Verses 154-163 were revealed soon after 
the battle of Badr, A.w. 2. Verses 186, 187, belong to A.H. 3, and 


CHAP. II.] ( 2g2°°) 


[INTROD. 


verses 188-202 must be referred to a period shortly before the 


pilgrimage to Makkah in A.H. 7. 


Analysis of the Chapter as to vts Teaching. 


Unbelievers and hypocrites reproved 

Exhortation to the worship of the true God 

Jews and Christians urged to accept the claim of 
Muhammad to be a prophet of God . 

The opposition of Jews and Christians to Muham- 
mad’s prophetic pretensions combated 

The doctrine of abrogation enunciated 

A Qibla declared to be unnecessary . 

The Jews denounced and the raligihn ot \brabamn 
declared to be the true Islam : 

The Jews finally abandoned and the Arabs acompted 
by the adoption of Makkah as the Qibla of Islam 

The bereaved friends of those slain at Badr comforted 

Makkans exhorted to faith in God, and directed to 
observe the law respecting forbidden meats 

Law concerning lawful and unlawful food (delivered 
at Madina) : : : : : . 

The sum of Muslim Wika 

The law of retaliation 4 

The law concerning bequests . 

The law concerning fasting 

The fast of Ramadhan : 

The pilgrimage to Makkah and war ear the faith 

Hypocrites and true believers contrasted 

Exhortation to a hearty acceptance of Islam 

The doom of infidels pronounced 

The Jews reproached : ; 

Suffering to be patiently endured . ° 

Sundry laws relating to almsgiving, war, wine, lots, 
orphans, marriage, women, oaths, and dives : 

The duty of warring in defence of relight enjoined 
by precept, and illustrated = the history of 
former prophets . ‘ ‘ , 

The Throne Verse é : 

The doctrine of the resurrecnen ildstrated : 

Exhortation and encouragement to almsgiving 

Usury forbidden ; 

The law concerning contracts Fal debts 3 

The prophet’s confession and prayer 


verses 


9 


3 


I-20 
21-38 


39-102 © 


102-112 
113 
I15 


I16-I4I 


142-153 
154-163 


164-172 


173-176 

177 
178, 179 
180-182 
183-185 
186, 187 
188-202 
203-206 
207, 208 

209 
210-212 

213 


214-242 


243-253 
254-257 
258-260 
261-274 
275-277 
278-284 
285, 286 


SIPARA I.] (e209) ) [CHAP. II. 


IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD. 


| (1) A. L. M. (2) There is no doubt in this book; 7 
as a direction to the pious, (3) who believe in the mysteries 
of faith, who observe the appointed times of prayer, and 
distribute alms out of what we have bestowed on them, 
(4) and who believe in that revelation, which hath been 
sent down unto thee and that which hath been sent down 








(1) A. Z. M. There are twenty-nine chapters which begin with 
certain letters, and these the Muhammadans believe to conceal pro- 
found mysteries that have not been communicated to any but the 
prophet ; notwithstanding which, various explanations of them have 
been proffered.(see Prelim. Disc., sec. iii.) Sale says, “None of the 
numerous conjectures as to the meaning of these letters is more 
plausible than that of Golius, who suggests the idea that they were 
originally inserted by the amanuensis, and that they stood tor the 
phrase Amar lv Muhammad, v.e., by the command of Muhammad.” 


(2) There 1s no doubt in this book, The author of the notes in 


the Roman Urdu Quran well observes, that Muhammad has cast 
doubt upon his Quran by the constant effort to show that there is 
no room for doubt. For where there is no consciousness of guilt, 
there is no anticipation of a criminal charge. The contrast between 
the Quran and the Christian Scriptures in this respect is very 
striking. 

The Vafsir-r-Raufi explains that when the infidels charged Mu- 
hammad with-being a juggler, a poet, and a collector of stories, many 
were in doubt about the truth of the Quran. Accordingly some said 
one thing, some another; wherefore God settled the minds of the 
faithful by the declaration of this verse. The same writer regards 
these words as an answer to the prayer of the previous chapter. 

(3) Mysteries of farth. “The Arabic word is Ghaib, which properly 
signifies a thing that is absent, at a great distance, or invisible, such 
as the resurrection, paradise, and hell. And this is agreeable to the 
language of Scripture, which defines faith to be the evidence of things 
not seen (Heb. xi. 1; 2 Cor. iv. 18, and v. 7).”-—Saule. Rodwell trans- 
lates it “unseen.” 

Are not Muslims chargeable with disobedience to this precept of 
the Quran when they refuse to believe the mysteries of the former 
Scriptures, the Trinity in unity, the Sonship of Christ, &c. ? 

Appointed times of prayer. See Prelim. Discourse, sec. iv. p. 169. 

(4) That which hath been sent down before thee. “'The Muhamma- 
dans believe that God gave written revelations not only to Moses, 
Jesus, and Muhammad, but to several prophets, though they acknow- 
ledge none of those which preceded the Quran to be now extant 
except the Pentateuch of Moses, the Psalms of David, and the Gospel 
of Jesus, which yet they say were, even before Muhammad’s time, 


R 


robo 


CHAP. I1.] (F "2617 *) [SIPARA I. 


unto the prophets before thee, and have firm assurance of 
the life to come: (5) these are directed by their Lorp, and 
they shall prosper. (6) As for the unbelievers, it will be 
equal to them whether thou admonish them, or do not ad- 
monish them; they will not believe. (7) Gop hath sealed 


up their hearts and their hearing ; a dimness covereth their 


sight, and they shall suffer a grievous punishment. 
|| (8) There are some who say, We believe in Gop, and 
the last day; but are not really believers: (9) they seek 


altered and corrupted by the Jews and Christians, and therefore will 
not allow our present copies to be genuine.”—Sale. 

Sent down. For the Muslim belief as to the manner in which God 
revealed the Scriptures, see Prelim, Discourse, sec. ili. p. 108. 

Firm assurance of the life to come. “The original word, al akhirat, 
properly signifies the latter part of anything, and by way of excel- 
lence the neat life, the latter or future state after death ; and is opposed 
to al duuya, this world, and al aula, the former or present lrfe.”—Sale. 
Rodwell translates, “ And full faith have they in the life to come.” 

The assurance predicated of the true believers is im regard to the - 
fact of a judgment-day and a future state, not of their certain par- 
ticipation in the joys of heaven. Muhammadans regard anything 
like assurance of faith, in a Christian sense, as gross presumption, 
and as tending to sin by breaking down the barriers against its com- 
mission, Nevertheless, the plain teaching of the Quran and of the 
traditions— see Mishqdt-ul-Masdbih, chap. i.—clearly assures final 
salvation to all Muslums. Why any Mushm should express a doubt, 
or rather hesitate to confess his assurance as to salvation, may be 
accounted for partly by his unwillingness to anticipate the divine 
decree, partly because of the teachings of the theologians respecting 
purgatory, and lastly, because of the protest of the conscience against 
aplan of salvation without atonement. 

(6) They will not believe. The Tafsir-t-Raufi raises the inquiry why 
God sent prophets to infidels whom he knew would not believe, 
and in reply says they were sent (1) to pronounce condemnation 
against them, and (2) to deprive them of the possible excuse that no 
prophet had been sent to them. 

(7) The doctrine of this verse is that infidels “who will not be- 
lieve” have been condemned to judicial blindness, which portends 
the more awful punishment of hell. Sale says: “ Muhammad here 
and elsewhere imitates the truly inspired writers in making God, 
by operation on the minds of reprobates, prevent their conversion.” 

(8-10) The persons referred to here were probably hypocritical 
disciples from among the Jews. Abdul Qadir says the reference is 
to Ibn Abi and his friends, who, when reproached by the prophet 
for his hypocrisy, declared themselves to be true followers of Islam, 
Mushm commentators, however, never want for historical characters 
wherewith to illustrate the Quran. 


SIPARA re ( 295,-) [CHAP. I, ' 


to deceive Gop, and those who do believe, but they 
deceive themselves only, and are not sensible thereof. 
(10) There is an infirmity in their hearts, and Gop 
hath increased that infirmity; and they shall suffer a 
most painful punishment, because they have disbelieved. 
(11) When one saith unto them, Act not corruptly in 
the earth; they reply, Verily we are men of integrity. 
(12) Are not they themselves corrupt doers? but they 
are not sensible thereof. (13) And when one saith unto 
them, Believe ye as others believe; they answer, Shall we 
believe as fools believe? Are not they themselves fools ? 
but they know it not. (14) When they meet those who 
believe, they say, We do believe: but when they retire 
privately to their devils, they say, We really hold with 
you, and only mock at those people: (15) Gop shall mock 
at them, and continue them in their impiety; they shall 
wander in confusion. (16) These are the men who have 
purchased error at the price of ¢rwe direction: but their 
traffic hath not been gainful, neither have they been rightly 
‘directed. (17) They are like unto one who kindleth a 





(11) Act not corruptly. “Some expositors understand by this the 
sowing of false doctrine, and corrupting people’s principles.”—Sale. 

(13) Belteve ye as others belveve, z.¢., a8 the first followers of Islam 
believe. 

(14) Devils. Their leaders and friends, so Tafsir-7-Raufi. 

(15) Shall wander in confusion. For the manner see next verse. 

(16) Their traffic hath not been gainful, dc. According to the 
Tafsir-i-Raufi, the reward of their hypocrisy is that they are infidels, 
whilst regarding themselves as of the faithful; heretics, whilst 
thinking themselves sound in doctrine; ignorant, whilst thinking 
themselves learned ; doomed to destruction, whilst fancying them- 
selves in the way of salvation, Compare this with the teaching of 
Paul in 2 Thess. 1. 11,12. Was there ever a more striking example 
of this very kind of reprobation than the Arabian prophet himself? 
The earnest reformer of Makkah becomes the cruel and sensual de- 
ceiver, and yet the apparently self-deceived politician of Madina. 

(17) Like unto one who kindleth a fire, de. . The author of the 
notes in the Roman Urdu Qurén, referring to the claim that the 
Quran is in every respect absolutely perfect, and therefore in itself 
a standing miracle, calls attention to the want of agreement in the 
number of the first and last parts of this verse. The first half of the 
sentence, and consequently the parable also, is incomplete. Sale 


CHAP. II. ] | C= 2960) [SIPARA I. 


fire, and when it hath enlightened all around him, Gop 
taketh away their light and leaveth them in darkness, they 
shall not see; (18) they are deaf, dumb, and blind, therefore 
will they not repent. (19) Or like a stormy cloud from 
heaven, fraught with darkness, thunder, and lightning, they 
put their fingers in their ears because of the noise of the 
thunder, for fear of death ; Gop encompasseth the infidels: 
(20) the lightning wanteth but little of taking away their 
sight; so often as it enlighteneth them, they walk therein, 


suggests the ae may have been thus shaned in affectation of 
the ‘prophetic style, and that the sense “‘ may be completed by adding 
the words, he turns from it, shuts his eyes, or the like.” “ Muhammad 
compares those who believed not in him to a man who wants to 
kindle a fire, but as soon as it burns up and the flames give a light, 
shuts his eyes, lest he should see. Asif he had said, You, O Arabians, 
have long desired a prophet of your own nation, and now I am sent 
unto you, and have plainly proved my mission by the excellence 
of my doctrine and revelation, you resist conviction, and refuse to 


believe in me ; therefore shall God leave you in your ignorance.”— ~ 


Sale. 

(19, 20) Or like a stormy cloud from heaven, &c. “ Here Muhammad 
compares the unbelieving Arabs to people caught i in a violent storm. 
To perceive the beauty of this comparison, it must be observed that 
the Muhammadan doctors say this tempest 1s a type or image of the 
Quran itself: the thunder signifying the threats therein contained ; 
the lightning, the promises ; and the darkness, the mysteries. The 
terror of the threats makes them stop their ears, unwilling to hear 
truths so disagreeable ; when the promises are read to them they 
attend with pleasure ; but when anything mysterious or difficult 
of belief occurs, they stand stock-still, and will not submit to be 
directed.”—Sale, Jalaluddin. 

Abdul Qadir observes that up to this point three classes have been 
described—true believers, infidels, and hypocrites. This latter class 
is referred to in this parable. They fear the difficulties of their pro- 
fession as a traveller fears the thunder in a dark night. As a 
traveller guided by the lightning moves on, but finding himself 
enveloped i in darkness again stops “stock-sti ll, so the hypocrite some- 
times professes his faith, at other times denies it, according as his 
circumstances are those of peace or danger. 

The Tafsir-1-Raufi explains the storm as symbolic of the dangers 
incurred in fighting against the infidels, ‘The hypocrites through 
fear hid themselves, desiring to escape the danger ; but as soon as 
they saw the clitter of the ‘booty, they made great professions of 
loyalty to Islam. “In short, while they had the hope of securing a 
share in the booty, they professed themselves friendly and were ful- 
some in praises ; but when they were confronted by the fear and toil 
(of the battle), they became inimical fault-finders.” 


SIPARA I.] Gr2g7") [CHAP. II. 


but when darkness cometh on them, they stand still; 
and if GoD so pleased he would certainly deprive them 
of their hearing and their sight, for Gop is mighty. 

| (21) O men of Makkah, serve your Lorp who hath 
created you, and those who have been before you: 
peradventure ye will fear him; (22) who hath spread 
the earth as a bed for you, and the heaven as a cover- 
ing, and hath caused water to descend from heaven, 
and thereby produced fruits for your sustenance. Set 


not up therefore any equals unto GOD, against your 


own knowledge. (23) If ye be in doubt concerning that 
revelation which we have sent down unto our servant, pro- 


(21) Omen of Makkah. The passage beginning with this verse and 
ending with verse 38 belongs to the Makkan period of Muhammad’s 
mnission. 

(22) Set not up therefore any equals unto God, dc. This is the 
rational conclusion from the considerations before mentioned. It 
reveals to us the grand motive-power within the bosom of the Makkan 
reformer. He has listened to the testimony of conscience to a 
Supreme Being, the Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor. He here 
appeals to his countrymen to come to this same source of light, and 
to abandon idolatry, which contradicts their own reason. The pas- 
sage has something of the sublimity of similar passages in the Old 
‘Testament. 

(23) If ye bein doubt . . . produce a chapter like untoit. In chap. 
xvii. ver. 90, this challenge is presented in the following boastful 
declaration: “Verily if men and genii were purposely assembled 
that they might produce a book like this Quran, they could not pro- 
duce one like unto it, although the one of them assisted the other.” 
Will those who would exonerate Muhammad from the charge of 
being an impostor explain how an honest man could put these words 
into the mouth of God? If Muhammad be the author of the Quran 
—and all apologists regard him as such—he must have known that 
even the most excellent human composition had no claim to be called 
inspired ; yea, further, it is inconceivable that he should have been 
so self-deceived as to fancy that when he put these words into the 
mouth of God, he was speaking the words of God, and not those 
of his own invention. Which is greater, the credulity which can 
believe an honest man, of high intelligence and poetic genius, capable 
of such self-deception as this, or that which believes a wicked man 
and a deliberate impostor capable of feigning sincerity and honest 
piety ? Let it be observed this claim was ever set up at Makkah. It 
was there that the question of being an honest reformer or a prophet 
of Arabia was decided. 

“If any one has a mind to test this boastful claim, let him read 


ame 


CHAP. II. ] C #20874) [SIPARA I. 


duce a chapter like unto it, and call upon your witnesses 
besides Gop, if ye say truth. (24) But if ye do @ not, nor 
shall ever be able to do it; justly fear the fire whose fuel is 
men and stones, prepared for the unbelievers. (25) But 
bear good tidings unto those who believe, and do good 
works, that they shall have gardens watered by rivers; so 
often as they eat of the fruit thereof for sustenance, they 
shall say, This is what we have formerly eaten of; and they 
shall be supphed with several sorts of fruit having a mutual 
resemblance to one another. There shall they enjoy wives 
subject to no impurity, and there shall they continue for 





the 4oth chapter of Isaiah, the 145th Psalm, the 38th of Job, anda 
hundred other passages in the Christian Scriptures, which are in 
style and diction superior to the Quran. It may be said that the 
beauty of the original cannot be rendered in a translation. Very 
well; this is equally true of the translations of the Christian Scrip- 
tures. Besides these there are hundreds of books which, in point of 


matter, arrangement, and instruction, are,superior to the Quran.” . 


Thus writes the author of the notes on the Roman Urdu Quran, 
The same author gives the names and titles of a number of Arabic 
authors and books, which deny the claim of Muhammad and Mu- 
hammadans respecting the divine perfection of the Quran, among 
whom are the founder of the sect of the Muzdaryans, Isa-bin-Sabth, 
al Muzdar, and others. Gibbon describes the Quran as an “ incohe- 
rent rhapsody of fable, and precept, and declamation, which some- 
times crawls in the dust, and sometimes is lost in the clouds.”— 
Decline and Fall of Roman Empire, vol. i. p. 365, Milman’s edition. 
See also Prelim. Discourse, sect, 111. p. 103, 

Your witnesses besvdes God. Your false gods and idols—said in 
ridicule. 

(24) Whose fuel 1s men and stones. Men and idols. The Ta/fsir-1- 
Raufi gives the opinion of some commentators that clouds, apparently 
laden with refreshing showers, will pour down torrents of stones, 
which will greatly increase the heat and torments of hell! 

(25) Thas is what we have formerly eaten of. ‘Some commentators 
(Jalalain) approve of this sense, supposing the fruits of paradise, 
though of various tastes, are alike in colour and outward appearance ; 
but others (Zamakhshari) think the meaning to be, that the inhabi- 
tants of that place will find there fruits of the same or the like kinds 
as they used to eat while on earth.”—Sale. 

There they shall enjoy wives subject to no impurity. “It is very 
remarkable that the notices in the Coran of this voluptuous paradise 
are almost entirely confined to a time when, whatever the tendency of 
his desires, Mahomet was living chaste and temperate with a single. 
wife of threescore years of age. 

“Tt is noteworthy that in the Medina Surds, that is, in all the 


SIPARA I.] (82200%.) [CHAP. II. 


ever. (26) Moreover, Gop will not be ashamed to pro- 
pound in a parable a enat, or even a more despicable thing: 
for they who believe will know it to be the truth from 
their Lorp; but the unbelievers will say, What meaneth 
Gop by this parable? he will thereby mislead many, and 
will direct many thereby: but he will not mislead any 
thereby, except the transgressors, (27) who make void the 
covenant of Gop after the establishing thereof, and cut in 
_sunder that which Gop hath commanded to be joined, and 
act corruptly in the earth: they shall perish. (28) How is 
at that ye believe not in Gop? Since ye were dead, and he 
cave you life; he will hereafter cause you to die, and will 
again restore you to life; then shall ye return unto him. 
(29) It is he who hath created for you whatsoever is on 
earth, and then set his mind to the creation of heaven, 








voluminous revelations of the ten years following the Hegira, women 
are only twice referred to as constituting one of the delights of para- 
dise, and on both occasions in these simple words: And to them 
(believers) there shall be therein pure wives. Was it that the soul of 
Mahomet had at that period no longings after what he had then to 
satiety the enjoyment of? Or that a closer contact with Jewish 
principles and morality repressed the budding pruriency of the reve- 
lation, and covered with merited confusion the picture of his sensual 
paradise which had been drawn at Mecca?”—Muir’s Lefe of Mahomet, 
vol, il. p. 143. 

The paradise of Islam is the garden of Eden inhabited by men and 
women with carnal appetites of infinite capacity, and with ability 
and opportunity to indulge them to the full. We strain our eyes in 
vain to catch a glimpse of a spiritual heaven anywhere in the Quran. 

(26) God will not be ashamed to propound in a parable a gnat. 
“God is no more ashamed to propound a gnat as a parable than to 
use a more dignified illustration.”—Savary. This was revealed to 
refute the objection of infidels, that the employment of such parables 
was beneath the dignity of God.— Abdul Qadir, Yahya, de. 

The transgressors. Infidels and hypocrites. The Tafsir-i-Raufi 
says the transgressors are distinguished by three characteristics : 
covenant-breaking, dissolving all connection with one’s relatives, 
and quarrelsomeness. ‘This is, of course, a mere paraphrase of the 
next verse. 

(28) Ye were dead, de, Sale, on the authority of Jalaluddin, 
paraphrases thus: “ Ye were dead while in the loins of your fathers, 
and he gave you life in your mothers’ wombs; and after death ye 
shall again be raised at the resurrection.” , 

(29) Seven heavens. See the same expression in chapters xli. 11, 


CHAP. II.] @ 360°) [SIPARA I. 


and formed it into seven heavens; he knoweth all 
things. 

|| (80) When thy Lorp said unto the angels, I am going 
to place a substitute on earth; they said, Wilt thou place 
there one who will do evil therein, and shed blood? but 
we celebrate thy praise, and sanctify thee. Gop answered, 
Verily I. know that which ye know not; (81) and he 
taught Adam the names of all things, and then proposed 
them to the angels, and said, Declare unto me the names 
of these things if ye say truth. (82) They answered, Praise 
be unto thee; we have no knowledge but what thou 
teachest us, for thou art knowing and wise. (33) Gop 


Ixy. 12, lxvii. 3, and Ixxi. 14. It is probably borrowed from the 
Jews. 

(30) A substitute on earth. Literally, a khalifah, vicegerent. 

** Concerning the creation of Adam, here intimated, the Muham- 
madans have several peculiar traditions. They say the angels Gab- 
riel, Michael, and Israfil were sent by God, one after another, to fetch 
for that purpose seven handfuls of earth from different depths and 
of different colours (whence some account for the various complexions 
of mankind) ; but the earth being apprehensive of the consequence, 
and desiring them to represent her fear to God that the creature he 
designed to form would rebel against him and draw down his curse 
upon her, they returned without performing God’s command ; where- 
upon he sent Azrail on the same errand, who executed his commis- 
sion without remorse ; for which reason God appointed that angel to 
separate the souls from the bodies, being therefore called the angel of 
death. 'The earth he had taken was carried into Arabia, to a place 
between Makkah and Tayif, where being first kneaded by the angels, 
it was afterwards fashioned by God himself into a human form, and 


left to dry (Quran, chap. lv. v. 13) for the space of forty days, or, as 


others say, as many years, the angels in the meantime often visiting it, 
and Iblis (then one of the angels who are nearest to God’s presence, 
afterwards the devil) among the rest ; but he, not contented with 
looking on it, kicked it with his foot till it rung, and knowing God 
designed that creature to be his superior, took a secret resolution 
never to acknowledge him as such. After this God animated the 
figure of clay, and endued it with an intelligent soul, and when he 
had placed him in paradise formed Eve out of his left side (Jalalud- 
din, &c.)”—Sa/e. 

They said, Wilt thou place there one, dc. This knowledge on the 
part of the angels, says the Tafsir-i- Raufi, was either derived from a 
divine revelation to that effect, or from a perusal of the writings on 
the preserved tables. 

(32, 33) God said, O Adam, tell them their names, “This story 
Muhammad borrowed from the Jewish traditions, which say that the 


SIPARA I.] (or) [CHAP. II. 


said, O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had 
told them their names, Gop said, Did I not tell you that 
I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and know that 
which ye discover, and that which ye conceal? (34) And 
when we said unto the angels, Worship Adam; they all 
worshipped him, except Iblis, who refused, and was puffed 
up with pride, and became of the number of unbelievers. 











angels having spoken of man with some contempt when God con- 
sulted them about his creation, God made answer that the man was 
wiser than they ; and to convince them of it he brought all kinds of 
animals to them, and asked them their names ; which they not being 
able to tell, he put the same question to the man, who named them 
one after another ; and being asked his own name and God’s name, 
he answered very justly, and gave God the name of JEHovaH.”— 
Sale, 

(34) When we said unto the angels, Worship Adam. Sale says the 
angels’ adoring Adam is mentioned in the Talmud. “The original 
word signifies properly to prostrate oneself till the forehead touches 
the ground, which is the humblest posture of adoration, and strictly 
due to God only ; but it is sometimes, as in this place, used to ex-_ 
press the civil worship or homage which may be paid to creatures. 
(Jaldluddin.)” —, 

Except Iblis. The story of Iblis and the angels probably owes its 
origin to Jewish tradition. The name Ibdis, from balas, a wicked 
person, may have been derived by translation from the 6 rovypés of 
the New Testament, Matt. xiii. 19, 38; 1 John 11. 13, 14. The 
Tafsir-r-Rauft says the name of Iblis before this disobedience was 
Azazil, and that this name was given to indicate his now hopeless 
condition. Muhammad probably adopted the name most familiar to 
his countrymen whilst relating a story derived from Jewish sources. 
Muslim commentators, believing the angels to be impeccable, and 
denying that they propagate their species, argue that Lblis is of the 
genil, and the Quran, chap. xviii. 48, seems to prove that Muhammad 
regarded him as the father of the genii. 

The whole doctrine of the Qurén concerning Iblis and the genii, or 
Satans of the Quran, has been borrowed for the most part from the Magi 
of Persia, and the attempt to identify them in the Qurén withthe Satan 
and evil spirits of the Bible is so unsuccessful as to form a plain indi- 
cation of the forger’s hand. A comparison of the two books on this 
subject will reveal more than one instance wherein the Quran, not- 
withstanding its boast that it preserves and confirms the teaching of 
the former Scriptures, fails to attest the teaching of the Bible. 

Because of the number of unbelievers, Sale says, “ The occasion of 
the devil’s fall has some affinity with an opinion which has been 
pretty much entertained among Christians (Irenzus, Lact., Greg. 
Nyssen, &c.), viz., that the angels being informed of God’s intention 
to create man after his own image, and to dignify human nature by 


CHAP. II.] (302°) [SIPARA I. 


(35) And we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in 
the garden, and eat of the fruit thereof plentifully wher- 
ever ye will; but approach not this tree, lest ye become of 
the number of the transgressors. But Satan caused them 
to forfeit paradise, and turned them out of the state of hap- 
piness wherein they had been; whereupon we said, Get ye 








Christ’s assuming it, some of them, thinking their glory to be eclipsed 
thereby, envied man’s happiness, and so revolted.” 

(35) Dwell thou and thy wife in the garden. Muhammadans believe 
the residence of Adam and Eve before the Fall to have been paradise 
or heaven, the place to which all good Muslims go. 

This tree. “ Concerning this tree, or the forbidden fruit, the Mu- 
hammadans, as well as the Christians, have various opinions. Some 
say it was an ear of wheat ; some will have it to have been a fig-tree, 
and others a vine. The story of the Fall is told, with some further 
circumstances, in the beginning of the seventh chapter.” —Sale. 

But Satan. Rodwell calls attention to the change from Iblis, the 
calumniator, to Satan, the hater. “They have a tradition that the 
devil, offering to get into paradise to tempt Adam, was not admitted 
by the guard; whereupon he begged of the animals, one after an- 
other, to carry him in, that he might speak to Adam and his wife ; 
but they all refused him, except the serpent, who took him between 
two of his teeth, and so introduced him, They add that the serpent 
was then of a beautiful form, and not in the shape he now bears.”— 
Sale. 

We said, Get ye down. “The Muhammadans say that when they 
were cast down from paradise, Adam fell on the isle of Ceylon or 
Sarandib, and Eve near Jiddah (the port of Makkah) in Arabia ; and 
that after a separation of two hundred years Adam was, on his re- 
pentance, conducted by the Angel Gabriel to a mountain near Makkah, 
where he found and knew his wife, the mountain being thence named 
Arifadt, and that he afterwards retired with her to Ceylon. 

“Tt may not be improper here to mention another tradition con- 
cerning the gigantic stature of our first parents. Their prophet, they 
say, affirmed Adam to have been as tall as a high palm-tree ; but this 
would be too much in proportion, if that were really the print of his 
foot, which is pretended to be such, on the top of a mountain in the 
isle of Ceylon, thence named Pico de Adam, and by the Arab writers 
Rahun, being somewhat above two spans long (though others say it 
is seventy cubits long, and that when Adam set one foot here he had 
the other in the sea), and too little, if Eve were of so enormous a size, 
as is said, when her head lay on one hill near Makkah, her knees rested 
on two others in the plain, about two musket-shots asunder.”—WSade. 

The Z'a/sir-i-haufi regards these words as being addressed to the 
serpent as well as to Adam and Eve. 

The one of you an enemy unto the other, v.e., Satan an enemy of man, 
or the allusion may be to enmity between Adam and Eve, typifying 
the enmity between the faithful and the infidels—Za/fsir-i-Rau/ft. 


SIPARA I.] (363°) [CHAP. II. 


down, the one of you an enemy unto the other; and there 
shall be a dwelling-place for you on earth, and a provision 
for a season. (36) And Adam learned words of prayer 
from his Lorp, and Gop turned unto him, for he is easy 
to be reconciled and merciful. (37) We said, Get ye all 
down from hence; hereafter shall there come unto you a 
direction from me, and whoever shall follow my direction, 
on them shall no fear come, neither shall they be grieved ; 
(38) but they who shall be unbelievers, and accuse our 





(36) Adam learned words of prayer, dc. There is a difference of 
opinion among the commentators as to what these words were. The 
Tafsir-2- Raufi_ accepts the opinion that they were the words of the 
creed, “ L4-1l4ha-illal-laho, Muhammad-ur-Rustl-ulléh,” God he is 
God, and Muhammad és the ‘apostle of God. But all such traditionary 
statements are the outgrowth of a desire to exalt Muhammad. One of 
the traditions makes Adam say that “As soon as the breath came 
into my body I opened my eyes, and saw the words, Ld-tléha-wlal- 
laho, Muhammad-ur-Rusél-ullah written on the heavens.” 

The purport of the verse seems to be that God taught Adam, in a 
general way, the words he then revealed for the benefit of himself 
and his children, Adam being regarded as the prophet of God to his 
generation. 

God turned to him, for he is easy to be reconciled. Rodwell trans- 
lates, “‘ For he loveth to turn.” Ail the Quran requires to secure the 
favour of God is to repent, %¢., to submit to the will of God and ask 
pardon for sin. 

(87, 38) Hereafter shall cause... a direction. “God here pro- 
mises Adam that his will should be revealed to him and his posterity ; 
which promise the Muhammadans believe was fulfilled at several 
times by the ministry of several prophets, from Adam himself, who 
was the first, to Muhammad, who was the last. The number of books 
revealed unto Adam.they saw was ten” (Jalaéluddin).—Sale. 

And whoever shall follow my direction, de. The Tafsir-i-Rauft 
conceives the idea that the story of Adam was placed at the very 
beginning of the Quran as a warning to all his posterity. He says, 
“God has narrated the story of Adam before he tells of others, in 
order that by showing his people how they were adored by the 
angels, through Adam, in whose loins they were hidden, and yet, 
instead of being drawn to him by his goodness, they have turned 
from him, broken his commandments, and have not been ashamed. 
Then in the expulsion of Adam from paradise, as here related, he 
intimates that notwithstanding the nearness of Adam to himself, and 
the adoration of angels bestowed upon him, yet, for one act of dis- 
obedience, was expelled from paradise. Wherefore he says, Fear me, 
and dare not to disobey my commands, lest I refuse to receive you 
into paradise at the judgment-day.” 

And accuse our signs of falsehood. Concerning the word here trans- 


Cur 


CHAP. II.] (304-7) [SIPARA I. 


sions of falsehood, they shall be the companions of hell- 
fire, therein shall they remain for ever. 

| (89) O children of Israel, remember my favour where- 
with I have favoured you; and perform your covenant with 
me, and I will perform my covenant with you; and revere 
me: (40) and believe in the revelation which I have sent 
down, confirming that which is with you, and be not the first 
who believe not therein, neither exchange my signs for a 
small price ; and fear me. (41) Clothe not the truth with 
vanity, neither conceal the truth against your own know- 


lated stgns Sale says, “ This word has various significations in the 
Quran ; sometimes, as in this passage, it signifies devine revelation or 
Scripture in general, sometimes the verses of the Quran in particular, 
and at other times visible miracles. But the sense is easily distin- 
guished by the context.” 

They shall be the companions of hell-fire, therein shall they remain 
for ever. The sufferings of the damned are described in chap. xiv. 
19-21, XXV. II-I'5, Xxxvli. 61 71, and lvi. 4o-56. This punishment 
is eternal, and varies in intensity according to the heinousness of sin. 

Hell is divided. into seven apartments, For description of each 
see Preliminary Discourse, sec. iv. p. 148. 

(39, 40) O chkeldren of Israel, ... believe in the revelation which I 
have sent down confirming that which rs with you. “The Jews are here 
called upon to receive the Quran, as verifying and confirming the 
Pentateuch, particularly with respect to the unity of God and the 
mission of Muhammad. And they are exhorted not to conceal the 
passages of their law which bear witness to those truths, nor to cor- 
rupt them by publishing false copies of the Pentateuch, for which the 
writers were but poorly paid.”—Sale, on the authority of Yahya and 
Jalaluddin. 

For passages of the Quran attesting the genuineness of the Chris- 
tian and Jewish Scriptures, see Index under the word QURAN. 

A careful consideration of the import of such passages as this ought 
to convince every honest Muslim of the fact that Muhammad cer- 
tainly did regard the Scriptures then current among Jews and Chris- 
tians as the pure Word of God. If he did not, then the Quran 
attests, verifies, and confirms a lie! See chap, ili. 93, v. 70, vi. 9o, 
QI, X. 97, and xlvi. 11. 

(41) Clothe not the truth with vanity, nerther conceal the truth against 
your own knowledge. Rodwell translates the latter part of the verse 
thus: Hide not the truth when ye know vt. On this he writes as fol- 
lows: ‘ Muhammad rarely accused the Jews and Christians of cor- 
rupting, but often of misrepresenting, their sacred books, in order 
to evade his claims. His charges, however, are always very vaguely 
worded, and his utterances upon this subject are tantamount toa 
strong testimony in favour of the unimpeachable integrity of the 


SIPARA I.] (el osma) [CHAP. IT. 


ledge ; (42) observe the stated times of prayer, and pay 
your legal alms, and bow down yourselves with those who 
bowdown. (43) Will ye command men to do justice, and 
forget your own souls? yet ye read the book of the law: do 
ye not therefore understand? (44) Ask help with perse- 








sacred books, both of the Jews and Christians, so far as he knew 
them.” The Tafsir-i-Raufi confirms the position taken above. It 
paraphrases thus: “ Donot mingle with the truth that the praise of 
Muhammad is recorded in the Pentateuch the lie of a denial, and do 
not hide the truth that he is the prophet of the last times, for you 
know that this prophet is a prophet indeed. Why then do ye deli- 
berately hide his praise and title (of prophet), and make yourselves 
the prisoners of hell?” 

The whole force of this exposition rests on the admission that the 
Jews were in possession of the uncorrupted Scriptures. 

Again, it is noteworthy that the corruption charged is not directed 
against the Scriptures, but against their interpretation of those Scrip- 
tures. The author of the notes on the Roman Urdu Quran calls 
attention to the fact, that while Muhammad would conciliate Jews 
and Christians by the pretence that his Quran confirms their Scrip- 
tures, he constantly misrepresents and falsifies them. This is true 
of both their doctrinal teaching and historical statement. It must, 
however, be observed that this inconsistency was not always due to 
the intention of the Arabian prophet, but generally to his ignorance. 

(42) Stated times of prayer... legal alms. The prayer (suldt) of 
the Muslim differs from what the Christian calls prayer in that it 
consists invariably of the repetition of ascriptions of praise to God 
and of petitions for divine blessing uttered in the Arabic language, 
and is almost entirely mechanical. The mind and the heart of the 
worshippers are alike shut up to the words and forms of the stereo- 
typed prayer. The Arabic dé#a expresses more nearly the Christian 
idea of prayer. This, too, probably corresponded more nearly to 
Muhammad’s own idea of suldt. 

Legal alms (zikdt) are levied on money, grain, fruit, cattle, and 
merchandise. The object for which it is levied is the support of the 
poor. It amounts to about two and a half or three per cent. on 
annual profits. 

Although these words are addressed to Jews, the prayer and alms, 
concerning which exhortation is made, are Muslim, we., of the kind 
and form belonging to the last dispensation of the one true religion. 

For nearly all the rites and forms of religion, Isl4m finds sanction 
in the volume of traditions. This fact affords a strong argument 
against the Quran as the inspired Scripture of a new dispensation. 

(43) Ye read the book of the law, z.e., the Pentateuch. This verse 
affords another proof that Muhammad believed the Jewish Scrip- 
tures then extant to be the genuine Word of God. 

(44, 45) Ask help with perseverance and prayer, dc. Abdul Qadir 
translates, “ Get strength by toil and prayer,” &c., and paraphrases, 
“‘Make it (prayer) a habit, and the duties of religion will become 
easy.” U 


Re. 


CHAP. II.] (30078) [SIPARA I. 


verance and prayer; this indeed is grievous unless to the 
humble, (45) who seriously think they shall meet their 
Lorp, and that to him they shall return. y 

|| (46) O children of Israel, remember my favour 
wherewith I have favoured you, and that I have pre- 
ferred you above all nations; (47) dread the day 
wherein one soul shall not make satisfaction for another 
soul, neither shall any intercession be accepted from 
them, nor shall any compensation be received, neither 
shall they be helped. (48) Remember when we delivered 
you from the people of Pharaoh, who grievously oppressed 
you, they slew your male children, and let your females 





The humble, who seriously think they shall meet their Lord, and that - 
to him they shall return. Sentiments like these exhibit the vast moral ° 
superiority of Muhammad’s teaching with regard to God and man’s 
relation to him over that of his idolatrous countrymen and of idola- 
ters of any country. The influence of passages like this must be 
taken into account if we would understand the power which the 
Quran exerts over Muslims. 

(46) O children of Lsrael, remember my favour, &c. The object of 
passages like this was to conciliate the Jews by appeals to their 
national pride, and by an attempt to imitate the style of their pro- 
phets in his exhortations to them. Passages of the Quran like this 
concerning the children of Israel evince considerable knowledge of 
the history of the chosen people. And yet the error which is here 
mixed up with the truth, without any apparent design, would seem 
to show that Muhammad had not access to the Jewish Scriptures 
directly. Itis therefore most probable that he obtained his infor- 
mation from Jewish friends, who had themselves an imperfect 
knowledge of their own Scriptures. See on this subject Muir’s 
Life of Mahomet, vol. i1., supplement to chap. v. 

(47) Dread the day wherein one soul shall not make satisfaction for 
another soul. ‘This verse, often repeated, contradicts the notion of 
Muhammad as an intercessor, and, of course, contradicts Scripture 
also, unless understood thus :—‘ The guilty shall not atone for the 
suilty.’”—Brinckman’s Notes on Islam. 

The author of the Tafstr-i-Raufi thinks this verse is addressed to 
unbelievers, and regards it as teaching the certain damnation of all 
who have not secured the intercession of Muhammad. 

(48) They slew your male children. The Tafsir-i-Raufi gives a 
story which illustrates the habit of Muslim commentators of wvent- 
ing history to explain the indefinite statements of the Quran. The 
story is that Pharaoh had a dream, in which he saw a fire issue 
forth from the Temple at Jerusalem. The fire consumed him and 
his people. Calling his wise men, he asked the meaning of his 
dream. They told him that a person would be born from among 


SIPARA I.] ( 307 ) [CHAP. II. 


live: therein was a great trial from your Lorp. (49) And 
when we divided the sea for you and delivered you, and 
drowned Pharaoh’s people while ye looked on. (50) And 
when we treated with Moses forty nights; then ye took 
the calf for your God,.and did evil; (51) yet afterwards 
we forgave you, that peradventure ye might give thanks, 
(52) And when we gave Moses the book of the law, and 





the children of Israel who would destroy both him and his nation. 
Accordingly he ordered all the male children of the Israelites to be 
destroyed. When some twelve thousand—according to others seventy 
thousand—infants had been destroyed, his subjects interfered, and so 
far modified Pharaoh’s intention that he spared the children born 
every alternate year. During one of these years Aaron was born ; 
but Moses, being born the following year, was placed in a basket 
and allowed to float down the Nile. On its reaching the palace, 
Pharaoh drew the basket to shore and found the infant Moses in it. 
His wife at once declared that the child did not belong to the Jews, 
and proposed to adopt it as their own, inasmuch as they had no 
children. Thus Moses was preserved by his enemy. See also 
Quran, chaps, vii., xx., and xxvi, &c. 

« (50) Then took ye the calf for your God, and did evil. ‘ The person 
who cast this calf, the Muhammadans say, was (not Aaron, but) al 
Sdmairi, one of the principal men among the children of Israel, some 
of whose descendants, it is pretended, still inhabit an island of that 
name in the Arabian Gulf. It was made of the rings and bracelets 
of gold, silver, and other materials which the Israelites had bor- 
rowed of the Egyptians; for Aaron, who commanded in his brother’s 
absence, having ordered Sdmairi to collect those ornaments from the 
people, who carried on a wicked commerce with them, and to keep 
them together till the return of Moses, al Sdmairi, understanding 
the founder’s art, put them all together into a furnace to melt them 
down into one mass, which came out in the form of a calf. The 
Israelites, accustomed to the Egyptian idolatry, paying a religious 
worship to this image, al S4mairi went further, and took some 
dust from the footsteps of the horse of the Angel Gabriel, who 
marched at the head of the people, and threw it into the mouth 
of the calf, which immediately began to low, and became ani- 
mated ; for such was the virtue of that dust.”—Sale, on authority 
of Jalaluddin. 

Some writers explain that Sdmairi discovered the virtue of this. 
dust of the footsteps of Gabriel’s horse by observing that wherever 
such footsteps were there green grass immediately appeared. Others 
account for the voice in the golden calf by referring it to Satan, 
who, entering it, began to say to the people, “I am your preserver, 
wherefore worship me.” 

(51) Yet afterwards we forgave you, 1.¢., those who did not actually 
worship the golden calf. See ver. 53. 

(52) When we gave Moses the book. We have here one instance, of 


x 


CHAP. II.] (* 5308-7) [SIPARA I. 


the distinction between good and evil, that peradventure ye 
might be directed. (53) And when Moses said unto his 
people, O my people, verily ye have injured your own 
souls, by your taking the calf for your God; therefore be 
turned unto your Creator, and slay those among you who 
have been guilty of that crime; this will be better for you 








which this chapter furnishes many, wherein the Qurén shows the 
ignorance of Muhammad with respect to the history of the Jews as 
contained in the books of Moses. The “Book” of the law (the 
Torah or Pentateuch) is here represented as given to Moses zn the 
Mount, whereas the story refers to the giving of the two tables 
(Arabic, Alw&h, meaning tablets) containing the ten commandments 
only. See Exod. xxxiv. 28. 

For further exposition of discrepancy between the Quran and the 
Pentateuch, see comments on chap. vii., vers. 104-163, where is 
recorded the most detailed account of the exodus of Israel from 
Egypt and God’s dealings with them in the wilderness to be found 
in the Quran. 

And the DISTINCTION between good and evil. Rodwell translates, 
“and the illumination,” chap. xxi. 49. 

The Arabic word here translated distinction is Furgqdn, a name 
which, among Muslims, is given solely to the Quran. The author 
of the notes on the Roman Urdu Quran argues from the use of this 
word, which is derived from the Syraic, that Muhammad must have 
had access to the writings of Syrian Christians, and especially to the 
commentary of the Old and New Testaments by Ephraim, a Syrian, 
in which a great many stories similar to those of the Quraén are 
said to be recorded, and in which the Pentateuch is uniformly called 
the Murqan. 

That this word may have been introduced into Muhammad’s 
vocabulary from Syrian sources is altogether probable, but the 
stories of the Quran bear no traces of having been copied from, or 
even learned from, any written record. On the contrary, they every- 
where bear the marks of having been recorded in the Quran from 
hearsay sources. Any written record in the hands of Muhammad 
would have enabled him to give more accurate statements of fact, 
and thus would have better confirmed his claim that the Quran 
attests the former Scriptures. 

The meaning of the term Furgqdn, as applied to Scripture, is not 
‘that which is divided into sections” (Hughes’ Notes on Muham- 
madanism, p. 11), but that which divides between good and evil, “ that 
peradventure ye might be directed.” 

(53) Ye have injured your own souls. Rodwell has it, “ Ye have 
sinned to your own hurt.” ‘The allusion is to the slaying of certain 
of their number for the sin of idolatry. 

Slay those among you, de. Lit, slay one another. 

“Tn this particular the narration agrees with that of Moses, who 
ordered the Levites to slay every man his brother ; but the Scripture 


SIPARA I.] ("369° 7) [CHAP. II. 


in the sight of your Creator: and therewpon he turned 
unto you, for he is easy to be reconciled, and merciful. 
(54) And when ye said, O Moses, we will not believe 
thee, until we see Gop manifestly; therefore a punish- 
ment came upon you, while ye looked on; (55) then we 
raised you to life after ye had been dead, that peradven- 
ture ye might give thanks. (56) And we caused clouds 
to overshadow you, and manna and quails to descend 
upon you, saying, Kat of the good things which we have 
given you for food: and they injured not us, but injured 





says there fell of the people that day about three thousand (the Vulgate 
Says 23,000) men, whereas the commentators of the Quran make the 
number of the slain to amount to 70,000; and add, that God sent a 
dark cloud which hindered them from seeing one another, lest the 
sight should move those who executed the sentence to compassion,”— 
Sale and Jalaluddin. 

(54) When ye said, O Moses, we will not belreve thee, until we see God 
manifestly. “The persons here meant are said to have been seventy 
men, who were made choice of by Moses, and heard the voice of God 
talking with him, But not being satisfied with that, they demanded 
to see God ; whereupon they were all struck dead by lightning,”— 
Sale, Ismail ibn Alt, Tafsir-r-Raufi. 

As this statement is nowhere corroborated in the Bible, it is pro- 
bably derived from Jewish tradition. 

(55) Then we raised you to life. The Tafsir-i-Raufi states that 
Moses, seeing his seventy companions stricken dead, immediately 
interceded for their restoration to life, on the ground that the people 
might suspect him of their murder. God then, on Moses’ interces- 
sion, restored them to life. See also Rodwell’s note on this passage. 

(56) We caused clouds to overshadow you. The pillar of cloud, and 
may be the pillar of fire also (Exod. xiii. 21, 22). Some commentators 
say that the cloud was as a canopy over the Israelites to shield them 
from the heat of the sun (Tafsir-1-Rau/i). 

Manna and quails. “The Eastern writers say these quails were of 
a peculiar kind, to be found nowhere but in Yaman, from whence 
they were brought by a south wind in great numbers to the Israelites’ 
camp in the desert. The Arabs call these birds Salwd, which is 
plainly the same with the Hebrew Salwim, and say they have no 
bones, but are eaten whole.”—Sale. 

A great variety of opinions have been entertained among Muslim 
commentators as to what manna represents, eg., flour, honey, 
heavenly gifts bestowed secretly, &c. As to the quails, some have 
it that they were dressed in the air and baked by the heat of the 
sun before they fell on the ground. 

As to the Salwaé having no bones (see Sale’s note above), the fact 
is, their bones are so tender that many eat them along with the flesh. 


Ri. 


CHAP. II. ] (2S rcrae) [SIPARA I. 


their own souls. (57) And when we said, Enter into this 
city, and eat of the provisions thereof plentifully as ye 
will; and enter the gate worshipping, and say, Forgive- 
ness! we will pardon you your sins, and give increase 
unto the well-doers. (58) But the ungodly changed the 
expression into another, different from what had been 
spoken unto them; and we sent down upon the ungodly 
indignation from heaven, because they had transgressed. 
(59) And when Moses asked drink for his people, we said, 
Strike the rock with thy rod; and there gushed thereout 
twelve fountains according to the number of the tribes, and 





And they injured not us, but imjured ther own souls. Savary 
translates this passage, “ Your murmurs have been injurious only to 
yourselves.” 

The Tafsir-i-Raufi seems to refer the injury spoken of in this verse 
to the wandering in the wilderness. 

(57) Enter this city. Some commentators suppose this city to be 
Jericho, others Jerusalem.—Sale. 
The author of the notes on the Roman Urdu Quran takes the 
allusion to be to-a “city of refuge.” This mixing up of events, 
some of which happened in the wilderness, others in the Holy 
Land, and still others which happened nowhere, added to which is 
the narration of events as occurring successively, whose chrono- 
logical order is widely different, shows the ignorance of the Arabian 

prophet. 

Say forgiveness. “The Arabic word is Hittaton, which some take 
to signify that profession of the unity of God so frequently used by 
the Muhammadans, Ld «dha illa “lldého, There is no God but God.”— 
Sale, Jalaluddin. 

(58) But the ungodly changed the expression, &c. ‘‘ According to 
Jaldluddin, instead of Hittaton, they cried Habbat fi shairat, 2.¢., a 
grain in an ear of barley; and in ridicule of the divine command to 
enter the city in an humble posture, they indecently crept in upon 
their breech.”—Sale, Yahya. 

Indignation from heaven. “A pestilence which carried off near 
seventy thousand of them.”—Sale. 

(59) Strike the rock. “The commentators say this was a stone 
which Moses brought from Mount Sinai, and the same that fled 
away with his garments which he had laid upon it one day while he 
washed. 

“They describe it to be a square piece of white marble, shaped 
like a man’s head ; wherein they differ not much from the accounts 
of European travellers, who say this rock stands among several lesser 
ones, about a hundred paces from Mount Horeb, and appears to have 
been loosened from the neighbouring mountains, having no cohe- 
rence with the others; that it is a huge mass of red granite, almost 


SIPARA I.] Car [CHAP, II. 


all men knew their respective drinking-place. Eat and 
drink of the bounty of Gop, and commit not evil on the 
earth, acting unjustly. (60) And when ye said, O Moses, 
we will by no means be satisfied with one kind of food; 
pray unto thy Lorp therefore for us, that he would pro- 
duce for us of that which the earth bringeth forth, herbs 
and cucumbers, and garlic, and lentils, and onions; Moses 
answered, Will ye exchange that which is better, for that 
which is worse? Get ye down into Egypt, for there shall 
ye find what ye desire: and they were smitten with vile- 
ness and misery, and drew on themselves indignation 
from Gop. This they suffered, because they believed not 
in the signs of Gop, and killed the prophets unjustly ; 
this, because they rebelled and transgressed. 

|| (61) Surely those who believe, and those who Judaize, 





round on one side, and flat on the other, twelve feet high, and as 
many thick, but broader than it is high, and about fifty feet in 
circumference.”—Sale, Jalaluddin. 

Twelve fountains. ‘* Marracci thinks this circumstance looks like a 
Rabbinical fiction, or else that Muhammad confounds the water of 
the rock at Horeb with the twelve wells at Elim.”—Sale. 

All men knew their drinking-place. Rodwell translates, “all men,” 
but understands ‘‘each tribe.” He adds, “This incident is perhaps 
inadvertently borrowed from Exod. xv. 27.” 

(60) We will by no means be satisfied with one kind of food. This 
refers to the second murmuring of the Israelites. See Num. xi. 
5, &c. 

” Moses answered . . . Get ye down to Egypt. According to the Pen- 
tateuch, this is not only not what Moses said, but what he would not 
have said. Cf. Exod. xxxii. 9-14, with Num. xiv. 13, &c. 

This they suffered, because they... kelled the prophets. Muslim 
commentators, following the anachronism of this passage, instance 
John Baptist and Zachariah as being among the martyred prophets 
referred to here ! 

(61) Surely those who belreve, dc. ‘‘From these words, which are 
repeated in the fifth chapter, several writers have wrongly concluded 
that the Muhammadans hold it to be the doctrine of their prophet 
that every man may be saved in his own religion, provided he be 
sincere and lead a good life. It is true some of their doctors do 
agree this to be the purport of the words; but then they say the 
latitude hereby granted was soon revoked, for that this passage 
is abrogated by several others in the Quran, which expressly declare 
that none can be saved who is not of the Muhammadan faith ; and 
particularly by those words of the third chapter (ver. 84), Whoever 


CHAP, II. | Cepery [SIPARA I. 


and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believeth in Gop, and 
the last day, and doth that which is right, they shall have 
their reward with their LorD; there shall come no fear on 








followeth any other religion than Islam (t.e., the Muhammadan), 7 
shall not be accepted of him, and at the last day he shall be of those who 
perish. However, others are of opinion that this passage is not 
abrogated, but interpret it differently, taking the meaning of it to 
be, that no man, whether he be a Jew, a Christian, or a Sabian, 
shall be excluded from salvation, provided he quit his erroneous 
religion and become a Muslim, which they say is intended by the 
following words, Whoever believeth in God and the last day, and doth 
that which is right. And this interpretation is approved by Mr. 
Reland, who thinks the words here import no more than those of 
the apostle, In every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteous- 
ness rs accepted of him (Acts x. 35); from which it must not be 
inferred that the religion of nature, or any other, is sufficient to save, 
without faith in Christ (Relig. Moham., p. 128).”—Sale. 

Rodwell identifies the Sabeites with the so-called Christians of 
St. John. See his note on this passage. 

Brinckman thinks the fairest interpretation of this passage to be 
as follows :—“ Jews, Christians, Sabians, whoever become Moslems, 
shall be saved 1f they become Moslems, and they shall be safe no 
matter what was their previous religion.”—Notes on Islam, p. 53. 

Abdul Qadir and the Tafsir-1-Raufi render the passage as making 
faith in God and the last day and the performance of required duty 
the condition of salvation, no matter what a man’s infidelity may 
have consisted in before he believed. They agree in regarding Jews 
and Christians as infidels. 

The true explanation of this passage, so often quoted in contro- 
versy, will be made evident from the following considerations :— 

(1.) The passage is addressed to the People of the Book (Ahl-i- 
kitab), as appears from the context. Rodwell describes the “Sabeans” 
correctly, 

(2.) Muhammad did not regard a/] Jews and Christians as infidels 
(chap. iii. 113 and 199). He everywhere describes Isl4m as the one 
only true religion given by God to men through the medium of the 
prophets. It was the religion of Adam, of Noah, of Abraham, of 
Moses, and of Jesus. Jews and Christians, &c., therefore, who 
believed “in God and the last day,” and did “that which was right,” 
were true Muslims. Only those Jews and Christians who rejected 
Muhammad as the prophet of God are stigmatised as infidels. In 
this passage and passages of similar purport Muhammad assumes 
that he is the prophet of the true faith, and really strives to con- 
ciliate Jews and Christians by endorsing their religion as true. He 
would have them abjure the errors into which they had fallen, and 
return to the simple faith and practice of their, or rather God’s 
religion, as now taught by the prophet of God. 

It follows from this, that as a true Jew must receive Jesus Christ, 
and hence become a Christian, if he would be saved, so a true Chris- 


SIPARA I.] Ga [CHAP. II. 


_ them, neither shall they be grieved. (62) Call to mind also 
when we accepted your covenant, and lifted up the moun- 
tain of Sinai over you, saying, Receive the law which we 
have given you, with a resolution to keep it, and remember 
that which is contained therein, that ye may beware. 
(63) After this ye again turned back, so that if it had 
not been for Gop’s indulgence and mercy towards you, ye 
had certainly been destroyed. (64) Moreover ye know 
what befell those of your nation who transgressed on the 
Sabbath day; We said unto them, Be ye changed into 
apes, driven away from the society of men. (65) And we 








tian must receive Muhammad, and hence become a Muhammadan, if 
he would be saved. 

Granting, as Muslims do, that Muhammad is the prophet he 
claimed to be, there is nothing in this passage inconsistent with his 
usual teaching as to the way of salvation. 

(62) Lifted up the mountain of Sinar over you. “The Muham- 
madan tradition is, that the Israelites refusing to receive the law of 
Moses, God tore up the mountain by the roots, and shook it over 
their heads to terrify them into a compliance.”—Sale and Abdul 
Vadir. 

Rodwell has clearly demonstrated the Jewish origin of this state- 
ment. 

(63) After this ye again turned back. Some commentators (Tafsir-i- 
Raufi) think these words refer to the rejection of Jesus, but more 
probably they refer to the rebellion at Kadesh-Barnea, or some 
sumilar event connected with the journey in the wilderness. 

(64, 65). Be ye changed into apes, de. “The story to which this 
passage refers is as follows :—In the days of David some Israelites 
dwelt at Ailah or Elath, on the Red Sea, where on the night of the 
Sabbath the fish used to come in great numbers to the shore, and 
stay there all the Sabbath to tempt them; but the night following 
they returned into the sea again. At length some of the inhabitants, 
neglecting God’s command, catched the fish on the Sabbath, and 
dressed and ate them ; and afterwards cut canals from the sea for 
the fish to enter, with sluices, which they shut on the Sabbath, to 
prevent their return to the sea, The other part of the inhabitants, 
who strictly observed the Sabbath, used both persuasion and force 
to stop this impiety, but to no purpose, the offenders growing only 
more and more obstinate ; whereupon David cursed the Sabbath- 
breakers, and God transformed them into apes. It is said that one 
going to see a friend of his that was among them, found him in the 
shape of an ape, moving his eyes about wildly, and asking him 
whether he was not such a one, the ape made a sign with his head 
that it was he: whereupon the friend said to him, ‘ Did not I advise 
you to desist!’ at which the ape wept. They add that these unhappy 


CHAP. II. | Cor BBO) [SIPARA I. 


made them an example unto those who were contemporary 
with them, and unto those who came after them, and a 
warning to the pious. (66) And when Moses said unto 
his people, Verily Gop commandeth you to sacrifice a 
cow; they answered, Dost thou make a jest of us! Moses 
said, Gop forbid that I should be one of the foolish. 








people remained three days in this condition, and were afterwards 
destroyed by a wind which swept them all into the sea,”—~Sale. 

Rodwell says there is no trace of this legend in the Talmudists. 
Comp. chap. vii. 164. 

The Tafstr-i-Raufi says the number thus changed into apes was 
seventy thousand, a number very commonly assigned by Muslim 
writers to every display of divine judgment. 

(66) Verily God commandeth you to sacrifice a cow. ‘The occasion 
of this sacrifice is thus related :—A certain man at his death left his 
son, then a child, a cow-calf, which wandered in the desert till he 
came to age, at which time his mother told him the heifer was his, 
and bid him fetch her and sell her for three pieces of gold. When 
the young man came to the market with his heifer, an angel in the 
shape of a man accosted him, and bid him six pieces of gold for her ; | 
but he would not take the money till he had asked his mother’s 
consent, which when he had obtained, he returned to the market- 
place, and met the angel, who now offered him twice as much for 
the heifer, provided he would say nothing of it to his mother; but 
the young man refusing, went and acquainted her with the addi- 
tional offer. ‘The woman perceiving it was an angel, bid her son go 
back and ask him what must be done with the heifer; whereupon 
the angel told the young man that in a little time the children of 
Israel would buy that heifer of him at any price. And soon after it 
happened that an Israelite, named Hammiel, was killed by a rela- 
tion of his, who, to prevent discovery, conveyed the body to a place 
considerably distant from that where the fact was committed. The 
friends! of the slain man accused some other persons of the murder 
before Moses; but they denying the fact, and there being no evi- 
dence to convict them, God commanded a cow, of such and such 
particular marks, to be killed; but there being no other which 
answered the description except the orphan’s heifer, they were 
obliged to buy her for as much gold as her hide would hold ; accord- 
ing to some, for her full weight in gold, and as others say, for ten 
times as much. This heifer they sacrificed, and the dead body 
being, by divine direction, struck with a part of it, revived, and 
standing up, named the person who had killed him, after which it 
immediately fell down dead again. The whole story seems to be 





1The Tafsir-i-Raufi has it that compensation against his neigh: 
the murderer himself became. the bours. 
accuser, and set up a claim for 


SIPARA I.] Os het [CHAP, II. 


(67) They said, Pray for us unto thy LorD, that he would 
show us what cow it is. Moses answered, He saith, She 
is neither an old cow, nor a young heifer, but of a middle 
age between both: do ye therefore that which ye are 
commanded. (68) They said, Pray for us unto thy Lorp, 
that he would show us what colour she is of. Moses 
answered, He saith, She is a red cow, intensely red, her 
colour rejoiceth the beholders. (69) They said, Pray for 
us unto thy Lorp, that he would further show us what cow 
it is, for several cows with us are like one another, and we, 
if Gop please, will be directed. (70) Moses answered, He 
saith, She is a cow not broken to plough the earth, or water 








borrowed from the red heifer, which was ordered by the Jewish law 
to be burnt, and the ashes kept for purifying those who happened 
to touch a dead corpse (Num. xix.), and from the heifer directed to 
be slain for the expiation of a certain murder. See Deut. xxi. 1-9.” 
—Sale, on authority of Abulfeda. 

The Tafsir- -t-Raufi, dilating on this story at great length, gives it 
with some variations from the version given above, yet substantially 
the same story. 

This piece of history is manifestly manufactured by the commen- 
tators to explain a very obscure passage. ‘The substance of the story 
is gathered from the Quran (see succeeding verses). ‘The passage is 
an additional proof that Muhammad was not in possession of a copy 
of the Jewish Scriptures. His information must have been received 
from some one who was himself ignorant of the Scriptures. Cer- 
tainly Muhammad could not have garbled the Mosaic account to 
make his Qurén appear as a new revelation, as has been charged 
upon him (Wotes on Roman Urdi Qurdn). <A deliberate garbler, 
with the Pentateuch before him, would have done better work. The 
passage is perfectly incoherent, as the invented lustory of the Muslim 
commentators shows. 

(68) She is a red cow, intensely red. ‘*The original is yellow, but 
this word we do not use in speaking of the colour of cattle.”—Sale. 

It seems to me the peculiar colour is here intended as a sign to 
indicate what cow. The succeeding question, as well as the preced- 
ing, desiring that Moses should pray for them, is presented to show 
the unbelief and hardness of heart on the part of the Jews. They 
doubt the inspiration of Moses, wherefore these numerous questions, 
See Tafsir-1-Raufi, in loco. 

(70) Moses answered, He saith, dc. Muhammad here presents 
Moses as a prophet of God like himself. He, hke Muhammad, the 
inspired prophet, delivers the precise message of God word for word. 
But the inspiration here and elsewhere attributed to the prophets 
in the Quran is a very different thing from that attributed to them 


coke 


CHAP. 11] (F "316 G)) [SIPARA I. 


the field, a sound one, there is no blemish in her. They 
said, Now hast thou brought the truth. Then they sacri- 
ficed her; yet they wanted but little of leaving it undone. 

| (71) And when ye slew a man, and contended among 
yourselves concerning him, Gop brought forth to light 
that which ye concealed. (72) For we said, Strike the 
dead body with part of the sacrificed cow: so GoD raiseth 
the dead to life, and showeth you his signs, that perad- 
venture ye may understand. (73) Then were your hearts 
hardened after this, even as stones, and exceeding them in 
hardness: for from some stones have rivers bursted forth, 
others have been rent in sunder, and water hath issued 
from them, and others have fallen down for fear of Gop, 
But Gop is not regardless of that which ye do. (74) Do 





in the Bible. This fact affords another instance of the falsehood of 
the claim that the Quran attests the Christian Scriptures (ch. xii. 111), 

They wanted but little of leaving it undone. “ Because of the exor- 
bitant price which they were obliged to pay for the heifer.”—Sale, 
and the 7'afsir-1-Raufi. 

(71) When ye slew aman, &c. The commentators are troubled to 
reconcile this charge of murder against the whole nation, when, 
according to their history of the transaction, it was the act of only 
oneman. The Tafsir-i-Raufi conceives the Jews generally as becom- 
ing partners in crime with the one guilty person by their unwilling- 
ness to use the divine instrumentality to discover the murderer, and 
their readiness to charge the crime upon one another. 

(72) Strike the dead body with part of the sacrificed cow. There is 
considerable learning displayed in the discussion as to what part of 
the cow was used for this purpose. The weight of learning is pretty 
well divided between the tongue and the end of the tail ! 

(73) Hardened after this, t.¢., after the sacrifice of the cow, the 
restoration to life of the murdered, and the conviction of the mur- 
derer. The events here alluded to are not, for a wonder, described 
by the commentators. From what follows, it appears to me the 
allusion is to their rejection of the prophets, and especially of 
Muhammad (ver. 74). 

Others have fallen down for fear of God. Some think the allusion 
here to be to the tottering of the rocks from the mountain-side under 
an earthquake shock. Others have quoted much tradition to show 
the literal fulfilment of this in connection with the prophet, stones 
doing obeisance to him, See Vafsir-1-Raufi. 

(74) Do ye therefore desire the Jews should believe you? Rodwell 
translates, “‘ Desire ye then that for your sakes (z¢., to please you, O 
Muslims) the Jews should believe ? ” 

The negative here suggested as an answer to this question throws 


SIPARA I.] (G42 res} [CHAP. IT. 


ye therefore desire that the Jews should believe you? yet 
a part of them heard the word of Gop, and then perverted 
it, after they had understood it, against their own con- 
science. (75) And when they meet the true believers, 
they say, We believe: but when they are privately assem- 
bled together, they say, Will ye acquaint them with what 
God hath revealed unto you, that they may dispute with 
you concerning it in the presence of your Lorp? Do ye 
not therefore understand? (76) Do not they know that 
Gop knoweth that which they conceal as well as that 
which they publish? || (77) But there are illiterate men 








some light on the various examples of Jewish unbelief related in the 
preceding context, the narration of which closes with the preceding 
verse. The object of these statements is primarily to show the simi- 
larity of Arabia’s prophet to Moses, and, secondarily, to arouse in 
Arab minds that fanatical hatred of the Jews which was soon to vent 
itself on the Bani Quraidha and other tribes. See Muir’s Life of 
Mahomet, vol. iii. pp. 255-291. 

Yet a part of them heard... then perverted ct. They listened 
with apparent interest to the words of the Quran, and gave Muham- 
mad reason to believe they received it as the Word of God, but after- 
wards were led to change their minds, probably through the influence 
of their more stable-minded brethren. 

(75) And when they meet the true belrevers, they say, We belteve. 
These are the hypocrites referred to in ver. 74. More likely they 
were ignorant Jews, who were really drawn toward Muhammad 
when in his presence and under his influence, but who were drawn 
away again by the influence of other Jews who were adverse to 
Muhammad. Failure to ally themselves to him was quite sufficient 
to put them under the ban of hypocrisy. 

The Tafsir-1-Raufi instances Qab, who was assassinated about this 
time by the order or consent of Muhammad, on account of his oppo- 
sition to Islam, as one of these hypocrites. 

When they are provately assembled together, they say, dc. Abdul 
Qadir translates ‘one says to another,” instead of “they say.” He 
comments as follows :—‘‘ The hypocrites were in the habit of telling 
the Muslims, in order to win their favour, what was written in their 
books concerning Muhammad; but his enemies, finding fault with 
them, objected to their placing such proofs in their hands,” «.e., of 
the Muslims. Does not this verse throw some light on the source 
from which Muhammad obtained the garbled accounts of the history 
and experience of the prophets found in his Quran? Ignorant Jews 
related the stories imperfectly to the followers of Muhammad, who 
repeated them still more imperfectly to their prophet, who embodied 
them in the Quran. 

(77) Illiterate men . . . who know not the book. ‘ Among them the 


NISF. 


CHAP. II.] (e513) [SIPARA I. 


among them, who know not the book of the law, but only 
lying stories, although they think otherwise. (78) And 
woe unto them, who transcribe corruptly the book of the 
Law with their hands, and then say, This is from Gop: 
that they may sell it for a small price. Therefore woe 
unto them because of that which their hands have written ; 
and woe unto them for that which they have gained, 
(79) They say, The fire of hell shall not touch us but for 
a certain number of days. Answer, Have ye received any 
promise from GoD to that purpose ? for Gop will not act 
contrary to his promise: or do ye speak concerning Gop 
that which ye know not? (80) Verily whoso doth evil, and 


vulgar know the Pentateuch only by tradition. They have but a 
blind belief.”—Savary. . 

The author of the notes to the Roman Urdu Quran well observes 
that this passage implies that, in Muhammad’s estimate, the Jewish 
Scriptures were extant and entirely credible, and that they were read 
and understood by their doctors. 

(78) Woe unto them, who transcribe corruptly the book of the Law with 
their hands, and then say, Thrs is from God. ‘‘ These are they who 
form sentences as they please for the people, and then ascribe them 
to God or his prophet.”—Abdul Qadir. 

The inference drawn by modern Muslims from passages like this, 
that, according to the Quran, the Jewish and Christian Scriptures 
have been corrupted, and are therefore no longer credible, is entirely 
unjustifiable. Admitting the charge made here against certain Jews 
to be true (and the Christian need not deny it), it proves nothing 
concerning the text of present copies. On the contrary, the charge 
implies the existence, at that date, of genuine copies. 

That they may sell vt for a small price. 'This formula occurs repeat- 
edly in the Quran. Its meaning is, that the gain arising from such 
a course would be small compared with the loss of the soul in hell. 

The Tafsir-1-Raufi relates a story to the effect that certain Jews 
were bribed to pervert the Mosaic description of Antichrist or 
Dajjal, so as to make him correspond in size, complexion, and 
otherwise to Muhammad. 

(79) A certain number of days. “ That is, says Jaléluddin, forty, 
being the number of days that their forefathers worshipped the 
golden calf, after which they gave out that their punishment should 
cease. Itis a received opinion among the Jews at present that no 
person, be he ‘ever so wicked, or of whatever sect, shall remain in 
hell above eleven months, or at most a year, except Dathan and 
Abiram and atheists, who will be tormented there to all eternity.” 
—Sale. 

(80) Whoso doeth evil. “By evil in this case the commentators 
generally understand polytheism or idolatry, which sin, the Mu- 


SIPARA I.] CA BISa") [CHAP. II. 


is encompassed by his iniquity, they shall be the companions 
of hell-fire, they shall remain therein forever : (81) but they 
who believe and do good works, they shall be the com- 
panions of paradise, they shall continue therein forever. 

|| (82) Remember also, when we accepted the covenant 
of the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall not worship 
any other except Gop, and ye shall show kindness to your 
parents and kindred, and to orphans, and to the poor, 
and speak that which is good unto men, and be constant 
at prayer, and give alms. Afterwards ye turned back, 








hammadans believe, unless repented of in this life, is unpardonable, 
and will be punished by eternal damnation ; but all other sins they 
hold will at length be forgiven.”—Sale. 

The final pardon of sin, however, is true only of Muslims. For 
the kéfir or infidel, 7.e., any one who rejects Islam, there is eternal 
burning (chaps. xi. 53 and xli. 28). 

Companions of fire. The Quran everywhere represents the pains 
of hell as being those produced by fire. Everywhere the prophet 
seems to gloat over the horrors of the punishment meted out to the 
lost in perdition. See references in Index under the word HE tt. 

(81) But they who belveve and do good works, z.e.. Muslims per- 
forming the duties required by their profession. 

The statement made in these verses would seem to contradict that 
of such passages as speak of salvation by the grace of God, e.g., chap. 

‘xxiv. 21. But there is not necessarily any more contradiction here 
than in similar passages of the Bible, where the doctrines of faith 
and works seem to be inconsistent with each other. The grace of 
God is bestowed upon the ground of faith, which is inseparable from 
good works. 

(82) Lhe covenant of the children of Israel, de. It is noteworthy 
that the Quran nowhere makes allusion to the ceremonial rites of 
sacrifice as a svn-offering, when narrating the religious duties of the 
Jews. Even the famous passage in chap. xxii. 36-40, where sacrifice 
is recognised as a rite appointed by God unto every nation, and the 
story of the “ Yellow Cow” (vers. 66-70), do not indicate a sacrifice 
in any Jewish sense as having atoning efficacy. Muhammad could 
hardly have known so much of Judaism as is manifest in the Quran 
—could not have met with so many Jews as he did in Madina, 
without knowing something at least of their ideas of sacrifice. The 
conclusion would seem well founded that he deliberately eliminated 
the whole idea of atonement trom what he declared to be the Word 
of God, and, therefore, never permitted the doctrine of salvation by 
atonement to appear as having divine sanction in any dispensation. 
With facts like this before us, it 1s very difficult to exonerate the 
author of the Quran from the charge of deliberate forgery and con- 
scious 1mposture. 


ae 


b|H 


HH 


% 


CHAP. II. ] (2320p) [SIPARA I. 


except a few of you, and retired afar off. (83) And when 
we accepted your covenant, saying, Ye shall not shed your 
brother’s blood, nor dispossess one another of your habita- 
tions; then ye confirmed z¢, and were witnesses thereto. 
(84) Afterwards ye were they who slew one another, and 
turned several of your brethren out of their houses, mutu- 
ally assisting each other against them with injustice and 
enmity; but if they come captives unto you, ye redeem 
them: yet it is equally unlawful for you to dispossess 
them. Do ye therefore believe in part of the book of the 
law, and reject other part thereof? But whoso among 
you doth this, shall have no other reward than shame in 
this life, and on the day of resurrection they shall be sent 
to a most grievous punishment; for Gop is not regardless 
of that which ye do. (85) These are they who have pur- 
chased this present life, at the price of that which is to 
come; wherefore their punishment shall not be mitigated, 
neither shall they be helped. 

|| (86) We formerly delivered the book of the law unto 


(83) Shall not shed your brother's blood, Rodwell translates, “ your 
own blood,” and explains as follows: “The blood of those who are 
as your own flesh.” 

(84) Yet at is equally unlawful for you to dispossess them. “This 
passage was revealed on occasion of some quarrels which arose 
between the Jews of the tribes of Quraidha, and those of al Aws, al 
Nadhir, and al Khazraj, and came to that height that they took arms 
and destroyed one another’s habitations, and turned one another out 
of their houses; but when any were taken captive, they redeemed 
them. When they were asked the reason of their acting in this 
manner, they answered, that they were commanded by their law to 
redeem the captives, but that they fought out of shame, lest their 
chiefs should be despised.”—Sale, on authority of Jalaluddin. 

(85) Who have purchased this present life, dc. This clear recog- 
nition of the importance of seeking happiness in the life to come, 
together with the personal character given to the Judge of all men, 
have not been the least potent factors in gaining influence for Islam 
among its votaries. 

Shall not be helped. By the intercession of prophets and angels to 
save them from wrath on the judgment-day. 

(86) And caused apostles to succeed him, “It isrecorded that there 
were four thousand prophets, more or less, between Moses and Jesus, all 
of whom obeyed the precepts of the Pentateuch, e.g., Joshua, Simeon, 
Job, David, Solomon, Elijah, Zacharaya, and John Baptist. They 


SIPARA I. ] (Mig2tr se) [CHAP. II. 


Moses, and caused apostles to succeed him, and gave 
evident miracles to Jesus the son of Mary, and streng- 
thened him with the holy spirit. Do ye therefore, 
whenever an apostle cometh unto you with that which 
your souls desire not, proudly reject him, and accuse 





were sent in order to proclaim and enforce the law, for the corrup- 
tions (of the text of the Word of God) made by Jewish doctors had 
been spread abroad. Wherefore these apostles were, so to speak, 
divine teachers and renewers of the true religion. Such are referred 
to in this verse.” — 7'afsir-7-Rauft. 

This authority states, in this same connection, that a prophet was 
sent at the beginning of every century, and that at the beginning of 
each millennium a great prophet (Nabi ul Azim) was sent. This 
state of things continued until the coming of Muhammad, who, being 
the last of the prophets, closed the book of inspiration and established 
the true faith in perfection. He does not, however, seem to see the 
inconsistency of this theory with the fact of the four thousand prophets 
belonging to the Mosaic dispensation before mentioned, nor does he 
show by what process the disposition of doctors of divinity to corrupt 
the text of Scripture has been changed in the last dispensation. If 
the former Scriptures were corrupted in spite of the four thousand 
prophets, how about the Quran in a dispensation devoid of prophets ? 

And gave evident miracles to Jesus the son of Mary. These were— 
(1) speaking when an infant in his mother’s arms ; (2) making birds 
of clay when a child, and causing them to fly away ; (3) healing the 
blind-born; (4) cleansing lepers; and (5) raising the dead. See 
chaps. ii. 48 and v. 110. 

These passages, while recognising Jesus as a worker of miracles, 
everywhere ascribe them to divine power external to him. He is 
only ‘the son of Mary.” 

And strengthened him with the holy spirit. “ We must not imagine 
Muhammad here means the Holy Ghost in the Christian acceptation. 
The commentators say this spirit was the angel Gabriel, who sancti- 
fied Jesus and constantly attended on him.”—Sale, Jaldluddin. 

In chap. iv. 169, Jesus is said to be “a spirit proceeding from 
God,” so that he would appear, according to the Qurdn, to be the 
Holy Ghost. Muslims even accord to his followers the creed, 
“There is one God, and Jesus is the Spirit of God,” as expressive of 
the truth. In chap. xxi. 91, Mary’s conception is said to have been 
due to the breathing by God of his spirit into her. And in chap. iil. 
45, Jesus is called the “Word proceeding from Himself,” 2.¢., God. 
Now, while it is certain that these expressions, and many others of 
a similar import in the Quran, do express the doctrine of the divinity 
of Jesus, as well as of the Holy Ghost, it is perfectly clear that 
Muhammad never intended to express that idea, For instance, in 
chap. ill. 47, it is evident that Muhammad regarded Jesus as a 
creature. And in chap. iv. 169, 170, where Jesus is called the 
“word which he (God) conveyed into Mary, and a spirit proceeding 
from him,” this very expression, which is one of the strongest in the 

x 


CHAP, It. | fir 5258} [SIPARA I. 


some of imposture, and slay others? (87) The Jews say, 
Our hearts are uncircumcised: but Gop hath cursed them 
with their infidelity; therefore few shall believe. (88) 
And when a book came unto them from Gop, confirming 
the scriptures which were with them, although they had 
before prayed for assistance against those who believed 
not, yet when that came unto them which they knew ¢o be | 
from God, they would not believe therein: therefore the 
curse of Gop shall be on the infidels. (89) For a vile 
price have they sold their souls, that they should not 





Quran, is followed by the command, “ Say not, there are three Gods,” 
which is evidently intended to deny the idea of the divinity of Jesus 
as well as of Mary, Nevertheless, the fact of such expressions being 
used in the Quran can only be explained on the ground that they 
were in use among the Arabs in Muhammad’s time in a Christian 
sense, and that Muhammad either used them, while explaining away 
their meaning, in order to commend his doctrine to Christians, or, 
as is more probable, he used them without understanding their © 
Christian import himself. See Muir’s Life of Mohamet, vol. 11. p. 138. 

The unintentional testimony of Muhammad to the character of 
Jesus is a subject worthy the study of the Christian controversialist. 

The Tafsir-1-Husaini gives four opinions of Muslim commentators 
as to the import of the expression “ holy spirit :” (1.) The holy soul 
of Jesus ; (2.) the angel Gabriel; (3.) a potent name whereby he was 
able to raise the dead ; and (4.) the Gospel. 

And accuse some of imposture. The prophet of Arabia, as is his 
wont, here likens the treatment he received at the hands of the Jews 
to that endured by Jesus, whom they rejected as an impostor. The 
passage shows that Muhammad was regarded as an impostor by the 
Jews of Madina at least. 

(87) But God hath cursed them uith their infidelity, therefore few 
shall belveve. Rodwell renders it, “God hath cursed them in their 
infidelity : few are they who believe.” 

Savary has it: “God cursed them because of their perfidy. Oh, 
how small is the number of the true believers !” 

(88) And when a book came unto them from God. The Quran, 
which Muhammad here distinctly claims to be the Word of God. 

They had before prayed, dc. ‘The Jews, in expectation of the 
coming of Muhammad (according to the tradition of his followers), 
used this prayer : O God, help us against the unbelievers by the prophet 
who ws to be sent in the last times.”——Sale. 

Which they knew to be from God, Another charge of deliberate 
rejection of his claims. 

(89) Out of envy, because God sendeth down his favours to such of his 
servants as he pleaseth. Envious of “ the gift of the prophetic office, 
&c., toa pagan Arab, and not to a Jew.”—Rodwell. 


SIPARA I.] Geoz5 7) [CHAP. II 


believe in that which Gop hath sent down; out of envy, 
because Gop sendeth down his favours to such of his 
servants as he pleaseth: therefore they brought on them- 
selves indignation on indignation; and the unbelievers 
shall suffer an ignominious punishment. (90) When 
one saith unto them, Believe in that which Gop hath 
sent down; they answer, We believe in that which 








“It is remarkable that Muhammad accuses the Jews of rejecting 
him for the same reason their elders and priests had refused Christ, 
namely, for envy.”—Brinckman, Notes on Islam. 

This assumption of Muhammad, like that of deliberate rejection 
of him whom they knew to be the prophet of God, and of that which 
they knew to be the Word of God (ae., the Quran, see ver. 88), is 
purely gratuitous. He had failed to give his Jewish hearers one 
single good reason for believing him to ‘be sent of God as a prophet. 

R. Bosworth Smith (M ohammed and M ohammedanism, p. 14, second 
edition) is surprised “that the avowed relation of Christianity to 
Judaism has not protected Islam from the assaults of Christian 
apologists, grounded on its no less explicitly avowed relation to the 
two together.” But surely “avowed” relationship can afford no 
protection to any religion against assault. The avowed relationship 
must be proven to be genuine. Mere assertions on the part of Jesus 
never could have established any relationship between Christianity 
and Judaism. This relationship is only established by showing 
Christianity to be a development of Judaism—a development de- 
manded by Judaism itself. Until it can be shown that Isl4m is a 
further development of both Judaism and Christianity, all “avowed” 
relationship counts for nothing, The ground of assault on the part 
of Christian apologists is the manifest disagreement between Islam 
and its “avowed relation” to Christianity. 

(90) That which God hath sent down. The Quran. The Tafsir-i-Rauft 
understands the allusion to be to the Gospel also, but this opinion is 
not well founded. The latter part of the verse undoubtedly refers 
to the Quran alone, and the allusion here must be to the same thing. 

That which hath been sent down to us, The Pentateuch. 

They reject... the truth, confirming that which rs with them, See 
note on ver. 40. This statement, so frequently reiterated, is one of 
the chief of the points inviting attack upon the Quran. The question 
to be decided is one of fact. Does the Quran confirm the doctrine, 
the history, and the plan of salvation by atonement set forth in the 
writings of Moses? If not, then the Quran is a forgery, and Mu- 
hammad an impostor, the Quran being witness. 

Muslims are so thoroughly convinced of the force of this argument 
against them that they see no way of evading it except in the claim 
that the Pentateuch now in use among Jews and Christians is either 
in whole or in part a forgery. 

Say, Why therefore have ye slain the prophets of God? See Matt. xxiii, 
37. So Rodwell; but see also notes on ver, 60. 


CHAP. II.] G.F3240 0) [SIPARA I. 


hath been sent down unto us: and they reject what 
hath been revealed since, although it be the truth, con- 
firming that which is with them. Say, Why there- 
fore have ye slain the prophets of Gop in times past, 
if ye be true believers? (91) Moses formerly came unto 
you with evident signs, but ye afterwards took the calf for 
your god and did wickedly. (92) And when we accepted | 
your covenant, and lifted the mountain of Sinai over 
you, saying, Receive the law which we have given you, 
with a resolution to perform it, and hear; they said, We 
have heard, and have rebelled: and they were made to 
drink down the calf into their hearts for their unbelief. 
Say, A grievous thing hath your faith commanded you, if 
ye be true believers? (93) Say, If the future mansion with 
Gop be prepared peculiarly for you, exclusive of the rest 
of mankind, wish for death, if ye say truth; (94) but they 
will never wish for it, because of that which their hands. 
have sent before them; Gop knoweth the wicked-doers ; 





(91) The calf. See notes on ver. 50, 

(92) Lifted the mountain of Sinar over you. See note on ver. 62. 

We have heard and rebelled. Muslim commentators express a 
variety of opinions in regard to these words, e.g., they cried aloud 
“we have heard,” but said softly “and rebelled,” or “we have heard” 
with our ears “and rebelled” with our hearts, or that their fathers 
heard and they rebelled ; or that some said “we have heard,” and 
others ‘‘and rebelled ;” or, finally, that two different occasions are 
referred to, one of obedience and another of rebellion. See Tafsir-7- 
Raufi. 

on A grievous thing, dc. ‘Muhammad here infers from their 
forefathers’ disobedience in worshipping the calf, at the same time 
that they pretended to believe in the law of Moses, that the faith of 
the Jews in his time was as vain and hypocritical, since they rejected 
him, who was foretold therein, as an impostor.”—Sale, Yahya, Bai- 
dhivi. 

(93) If the future mansion... wish for death, of ye say truth, 
This same claim can be set up with equal justice against Muslims, 
who hold out no hope of salvation to such as reject Islam, The 
Tafsir-i-Raufi regards the words as being addressed to believers as a 
test of their faith. Tried by such a test, there are indeed very few 
true Muslims. 

(94) That which their hands have sent before them. ‘That is, by 
reason of the wicked forgeries which they have been guilty of in 
respect to the Scriptures. An expression much like that of St. Paul 


SIPARA I.] C535 0E) [CHAP. II. 


(95) and thou shalt surely find them of all men the most 
covetous of life, even more than the idolaters: one of them 
would desire his life to be prolonged a thousand years, 
but none shall reprieve himself from punishment, that his 
life may be prolonged: Gop seeth that which they do. 

| (96) Say, Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel (for he hath 
caused the Qurdn to descend on thy heart, by the permission 
of Gop, confirming that which was before revealed, a direc- 
tion, and good tidings to the faithful); (97) whosoever is an 
enemy to GoD, or his angels, or his apostles, or to Gabriel, 
or Michael, verily Gop is an enemy to the unbelievers. 
(98) And now we have sent down unto thee evident 





where he says, that some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before 
to gudgment.”—Sale. 

God knoweth the wicked-doers. This, with a multitude of similar 
passages in the Quran, clearly emphasises the truth of God’s omni- 
science. It is one of those truths which has given Isl4m so much 
moral power, and which asserts its superiority over the various 
forms of heathenism with which it comes in contact. Such truths 
regarding God account in great measure for its influence as a “ mis- 
sionary religion.” 

(96) Whoever 1s an enemy to Gabriel. “The commentators say that 
the Jews asked what angel it was that brought the divine revelations 
to Muhammad; and being told that it was Gabriel, they replied that 
he was their enemy, and the messenger of wrath and punishment ; 
but if it had been Michael, they would have believed on him, be- 
cause that angel was their friend, and the messenger of peace and 
plenty. And on this occasion, they say, this passage was revealed. 

That Michael was really the protector or guardian angel of the 
Jews we know from Scripture (Dan. xii. 1); and it seems that Gabriel 
was, as the Persians call him, the angel of revelations, being frequently 
sent on messages of that kind (Dan. vill. 16; ix. 21; Luke i. 19, 26); 
for which reason it is probable Muhammad pretended he was the 
angel from whom he received the Quran.”—Sale, Jaldluddin, Yahya. 

(98) Hvident signs, “7.e., the revelations of this book.”—Sale. ‘The 
Quran and miracles.’ 7 afsir-i-Raufi. The word Aydt, here trans- 
lated signs, is that which is used to denote the various sections or 
verses of the Quran. As these verses were claimed to be a standing 
miracle, and were for this reason called signs, the allusion of the pas- 
sage is to the revelations of the Quran, as Sale has it. 

As to the claim of Muslim tradition and of modern Muhamma- 
dans that Muhammad wrought miracles, it is sufficient to say that 
such a claim is made directly in opposition to the repeated declara- 
tion of the Quran to the contrary. See vers. 118, 119; chap, lil. 
184, 185; chap. vil._34-36, 109, 111; chap. x. 21, &e. 


CHAP. IL] (325). 4 | [SIPARA I. 


signs, and none will disbelieve them but the evil-doers. 
(99) Whenever they make a covenant, will some of them 
reject it? yea, the greater part of them do not believe. 
(100) And when there came unto them an apostle from Gop, 
confirming that scripture which was with them, some of 
those to whom the scriptures were given cast the book of 
Gop behind their backs, as if they knew it not: (101) and © 
they followed the device which the devils devised against the 
kingdom of Solomon, and Solomon was not an unbelever ; 
but the devils believed not; they taught men sorcery, and 
that which was sent down to the two angels at Babel, 
Hartt and Marit: yet those two taught no man until they 
had said, Verily we are a temptation, therefore be not an 





(100) An apostle from God, confirming that scripture which was with 
them. Muhammad here reiterates his claim to be an apostle con- 
firming the Jewish Scriptures. He would also be recognised as an 
apostle of God because he confirms the Jewish Scriptures. He there- 
fore attests the divine character of the Scriptures extant un his tume. 
See also note on ver. go. 

(101) The device which the devils devised. ‘“'The devils having, by 
God’s permission, tempted Solomon without success, they made use 
of a trick to blast his character. For they wrote several books of 
magic, and-hid them under that prince’s throne, and after his death 
told the chief men that if they wanted to know by what means Solo- 
mon had obtained his absolute power over men, genii, and the winds, 
they should dig under his throne ; which having done, they found 
the aforesaid books, which contained impious superstitions. The 
better sort refused to learn the evil arts therein delivered, but the 
common people did ; and the priests published this scandalous story 
of Solomon, which obtained credit among the Jews, till God, say 
the Muhammadans, cleared that king by the mouth of their prophet, 
declaring that Solomon was no idolater.”—Sale, Yahya, Jalaluddin. 

‘Babel is regarded by the Muslims as the fountain-head of the 
science of magic. They suppose Hartt and M4rut to be two angels 
who, in consequence of their want of compassion for the frailties of 
mankind, were sent down to earth to be tempted. They both sinned; 
and being permitted to choose whether they would be punished now 
or hereafter, chose the former, and are still suspended by the feet at 
Babel in a rocky pit, and are the great teachers of magic.”—Lane on 
chap. 1ii., note 14, of the Thousand and One Nights. See also Rod- 
well’s note. 

Hartt and Marit. “Some say only that these were two magicians 
or angels sent by God to teach men magic and to tempt them ; but 
others tell a longer fable, that the angels expressing their surprise 
at the wickedness of the sons of Adam, after prophets had been sent 


SIPARA I] ( 327 ) [CHAP. II. 


unbeliever. So men learned from those two a charm by 
which they might cause division between a man and his 
wife; but they hurt none thereby, unless by Gop’s per- 
mission, and they learned that which would hurt them, 
and not profit them; and yet they knew that he who 
bought that art should have no part in the life to come, 
and woful is the price for which they have sold their souls, 
if they knew it. (102) But if they had believed, and feared 
Gop, verily the reward they would have had from Gop 
would have been better, if they had known it. 

|| (103) O true believers, say not to owr apostle, “ Raina;” 
but say “Undhurna;” and hearken: the infidels shall suffer 
a erievous punishment. (104) It is not the desire of the un- 





to them with divine commissions, God bid them choose two out of 
their own number to be sent down to be judges on earth. Where- 
upon they pitched upon Harut and Marut, who executed their office 
with integrity for some time, till Zuharah, or the planet Venus, de- 
scended and appeared before them in the shape of a beautiful woman, 
bringing a complaint against her husband (though others say she 
was areal woman). As soon as they saw her they fell in love with 
her, and endeavoured to prevail on her to satisfy their desires ; but 
she flew up again to heaven, whither the two angels also returned, 
but were not admitted. However, on the intercession of a certain 
pious man, they were allowed to choose whether they would be 
punished in this life or in the other; whereupon they chose the 
former, and now suffer punishment accordingly in Babel, where 
they are to remain till the day of judgment. They add that if a 
man has a fancy to learn magic, he may go to them, and hear their 
voice, but cannot see them. 

“The Jews have something like this of the angel Shamhozai, 
who having debauched himself with women, repented, and by way 
of penance hung himself up between heaven and earth. (See 
Bereshit Rabbah in Gen, vi. 2).”—Sale, Yahya, Jaléluddin, ke. 

(103) Say not to our apostle, “Raina;” but say “Undhirna.” “Those 
two Arabic words have both the same signification, viz., Lock on us, 
and are a kind of salutation. Muhammad had a great aversion to 
the first, because the Jews frequently used it in derision, it being a 
word of reproach in their tongue. They alluded, it seems, to the 
Hebrew verb Y)7, rua, which signifies to be bad or mischievous.” — 
Sale, Jalaluddin. 

“ Raina,” as pronounced, means in Hebrew, “our bad one ;” but in 
Arabic, ‘‘look on us.” —lodwell, Abdul Qadir. 

(105) Whatever verse we shall abrogate, or cause thee to forget, we 
will bring a better than tt, or one like unto zt. “Imam Baghawi says, 
that the number of abrogated verses has been variously estimated 


H 
Sy) 


wo 


CHAP. II. ] Cece ite) [SIPARA I. 


believers, either among those unto whom the scriptures have 
been given, or among the idolaters, that any good should 
be sent down unto you from your Lorp: but Gop will 
appropriate his mercy unto whom he pleaseth ; for Gop is 
exceeding beneficent. (105) Whatever verse we shall abro- 
sate, or cause thee to forget, we will bring a better than 


from five to five hundred.”—Hughes’ Introduction to the Roman Urda 
Qurdn, 1876, p. xix. 

The Tafsir Fatah-ul-Aziz describes three classes of abrogated pas- 
sages: (1.) where one verse or passage is substituted for another ; 
(2.) where the meaning and force of a passage is abrogated by the 
addition of another passage, both passages being retained in the 
book; and (3.) where the passage is removed entirely from both 
the book and the memory of those who may have heard it. See 
on this subject Introduction to Muir’s Life of Mahomet, pp. xxii. and 
xxvi., also Preliminary Discourse, p. IIo. 

Brinckman, in his Notes on Islam, draws from this passage the 
following conclusion :—“If God gave verses to Muhammad and then 
cancelled them, it utterly destroys the notion that the original of 
the present Quran, as we now have it, was written on the preserved _ 
table from all eternity by God. If it be said that God thought it 
better to withdraw some verses after declaring them, it looks as if 
God, like man, did not know the future; and as we do not know 
for a certainty what words were cancelled, we cannot tell which 
verse it is best for us to attend to,” 

The doctrine of abrogation, as taught in this passage and others 
(xiii. 389 and xvi. 103), sprang up during Muhammad’s prophetic 
career as a matter of necessity, ‘The prophetic passages being deli- 
vered piecemeal, and generally as the religious or political circum- 
stances of the prophet demanded, it came to pass that some of the 
later deliverances were contradictory to former ones. The Jews, 
ever alert in their opposition to the pretensions of the new religion, 
pointed out the discrepancies already manifest in the so-called reve- 
lations. Objections of this order could not but seriously influence 
the popularity of the prophet among his countrymen, and even 
jeopardise his credit in the eyes of his own followers. Under cir- 
cumstances like these Muhammad promulgated the doctrine of abro- 
gation, a doctrine which not only secured the allegiance of those 
whose faith had been shaken by Jewish objections, but which has 
served to strengthen his followers in all ages in their controversy 
with Jews and Christians, 

The claim of the commentators is: (1.) That God is a sovereign, 
and is therefore at liberty to change or abolish his laws at his own 
discretion ; (2.) that abrogation on his part does not imply any 
imperfection in the laws changed or abolished, as Jews and Chris- 
tians had declared, but that circumstances of time, place, &c., called 
forth new laws, rites, and ceremonies. All God’s laws, rites, and 
ceremonies, ordained for the guidance of his creatures, are good and 


SIPARA I.] Crs) [CHAP. II. 


it, or one like unto it. Dost thou not know that Gop is 
almighty ? (106) Dost thou not know that unto Gop be- 
longeth the kingdom of heaven and earth? neither have 
ye any protector or helper except Gop. (107) Will ye 
require of your apostle according to that which was for- 
merly required of Moses? but he that hath exchanged faith 


true for the time and under the circumstances in which they were 
given and for which they were intended. 

Now, while it may be admitted that the abrogated passages of the 
Quran may thus be upheld against the objection that they militate 
against the perfection of the divine character, asswming, as Muslims 
do, the inspiration of the Quran, yet this doctrine will not serve 
their purpose when applied to the alleged abrogation of the Scrip- 
tures of the Old and New Testaments. 

On this point it becomes us to admit freely that God has abro- 
gated in one age rites, ceremonies, and laws which were commanded 
in another. We claim this much in our controversy with Jews con- 
cerning the rites and ordinances of the Mosaic dispensation relating 
to clean and unclean meats, sacrifices and offerings, the observance 
of certain feasts, holy days, pilgrimages, &c. This doctrine is clearly 
maintained by the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians and 
by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. 

But when the Muslim seeks to apply this principle of abrogation 
to the great cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith, as taught con- 
sistently throughout the whole Bible, and thus attempts to reconcile 
the former Scriptures with the contradictory teachings of the Quran 
concerning the being and attributes of God, the Trinity, the Sonship of 
Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Atonement, not to mention historical 
facts and the spirit of prophecy, the Christian does fairly take excep- 
tion to this doctrine of abrogation. No amount of argument can 
ever so reconcile the Quran with the former Scriptures, which it 
professes to confirm, as to make it possible to accept both as the 
Word of God. If the Bible be acknowledged to be the Word of 
God (and every Muslim is bound to do so), then, all reasonable con- 
cession to the doctrine of abrogation being made, the Quran must 
still be rejected. 

Dost not thow know that God is Almighty? This is given as the 
reason why God may abrogate any portion of his Word. It is the 
reason given by all Muslim commentators. ‘He can do as he 
pleases.” But God cannot lie. He cannot deny eternal truth, his- 
torical facts, and his own nature. ‘He cannot deny himself.” 
Compare the teaching of Jesus in Matt. v. 17. 

(107) That which was formerly required of Moses? “ Jalaluddin 
says that what the Jews required of Moses was that they might 
see God manifestly. The Tafsir Husain, however, has it that they 
demanded that Muhammad should show them such a complete book, 
given at one time, as was given to Moses. Whatever the allusion 
may be, one thing is evident, viz., that Muhammad was troubled 


SULS. 


CHAP. II. ] Co 340°") [SIPARA I. 


for infidelity, hath already erred from the straight way. 
(108) Many of those unto whom the scriptures have 
been given, desire to render you again unbelievers, after 
ye have believed; out of envy from their souls, even 
after the truth is become manifest unto them; but for- 
sive them, and avoid them, till Gop shall send his com- 
mand; for Gop is omnipotent. (109) Be constant in 
prayer, and give alms; and what good ye have sent — 
before for your souls, ye shall find it with Gop; surely 
Gop seeth that which ye do. (110) They say, Verily none 
shall enter paradise, except they who are Jews or Christians: 
this is their wish. Say, Produce your proof of this, if ye 
speak truth. (111) Nay, but he who resigneth himself to 
Gop, and doth that which is right, he shall have his reward 





and displeased at the disposition of his followers to require of him 
similar evidence of his prophetic mission to that given by Moses.”— 
Notes on Roman Urdt Quran. 

(108) Out of envy from their souls, &c. See notes on ver. 89, 

But forgive them, and avoid them. These words indicate the policy 
of Muhammad, so long as he was too weak to use the more convincing 
argument of the sword in the controversy with the powerful Jewish 
tribes of Madina. The faithful were not to wage war against them, 
but to forgive them, and to prevent their exercising any evil 
influence, they were to be avoided. The Tafstr-1-Raufi paraphrases 
this passage thus: “ Forgive and pass them by, until God reveal his 
command concerning their slaughter or their payment of tribute.” 

(109) Be constant in prayer. Prayer is the first of the five prin- 
cipal duties of the Mushm. It consists in the offering of ascriptions 
of praise to the deity with supplication for divine blessing five times 
aday. The times for prayer are: (1.) In the evening at four minutes 
after sunset ; (2.) just after nightfall ; (3.) at daybreak in the morn- 
ing; (4.) at noon, as soon as the sun begins to decline from the 
meridian; (5.) midway between noon and sunset. See also note on 
ver. 42. 

And alms. The giving of zakdt, or legal and obligatory alms, is 
another of the five duties. The idea was probably borrowed from 
the Jewish tithes. See note on ver. 42, and Preliminary Discourse, 

A172. 

(110) They say, Verily none shall enter paradise, except they who are 
Jews or Christians. ‘This passage was revealed on occasion of a 
dispute which Muhammad had with the Jews of Madina and the 
Christians of Najran, each of them asserting that those of their 
religion only should be saved.”—Sale, Jaldluddin, See note on 
ver, 01% 

(111) Nay, but he who resigneth himself to God, and doth that which 


SIPARA I.] (io Baha) [CHAP. II. 


with his Lorp: there shall come no fear on them, neither 
shall they be grieved. 
|| (112) The Jews say, The Christians are grownded on 


nothing; and the Christians say, The Jews are grownded 


Oo? 


on nothing; yet they both read the scriptures. So like- 
wise say they who know not the scripture, according to 
their saying. But Gop shall judge between them on the 
day of the resurrection, concerning that about which they 
now disagree. (113) Who is more unjust than he who pro- 
hibiteth the temples of Gop, that his name should be re- 
membered therein,and who hasteth to destroy them? Those 
men cannot enter therein, but with fear: (114) they shall 


is right, dc. Here we have first a denial of the teaching of Jews 
and Christians that a profession of, and obedience to, the require- 
ments of their religion is necessary to salvation. As this is also 
the teaching of the Muslims, the force of this denial of it by 
Muhammad can only be evaded by the convenient doctrine of abro- 
cation. Secondly, we have here a declaration that resignation to 
the will of God and right doing, which Jaléluddin interprets as 
“asserting the unity of God,” are the sole conditions of salvation. 
If so, then men are still under the law, and so cannot be saved, 
seeing none can fulfil its requirements. If so, then the Gospel of 
Jesus, which the Quran claims to have attested, is untrue. 

(112) The Jews say, The Christians are grounded on nothing, kc. 
“The Jews and Christians are here accused of denying the truth 
of each other’s religion, notwithstanding they read the Scriptures ; 
whereas the Pentateuch bears testimony to Jesus, and the Gospel 
bears testimony to Moses.”—Sale, Jalaluddin. 

Yet they both read the Scriptures. This is further testimony to the 
Jewish and Christian Scriptures, as not only extant and in general 
use among Jews and Christians, but also to their credibility. The 
plain inference from this passage is that Muhammad regarded them 
as genuine. Whence then the ground for the charge made by him 
that the Jews and Christians changed and corrupted their Scriptures 
(ver. 41)? The answer is, that he did not charge upon them the 
crime of corrupting the text, but of perverting and concealing the 
meaning of their Scriptures. 

The charge made by modern Muslims as to the corruption of the 
Bible text cannot be justified by any fair interpretation of the 
Quran, This is an arrow borrowed from the quiver of Christian 
infidelity. 

They who know not the Scripture. The heathen Arabs, who sided 
with Jews and Christians in their debates. 

(113, 114) Who is more unjust than he who prohibiteth the temples 
of God, éc. “Or hindereth men from paying their adorations to 


R 


14° 


CHAP. I1.] Shay [SIPARA I. 


have shame in this world, and in the next a grievous 
punishment. (115) To Gop belongeth the east and the 
west; therefore whithersoever ye turn yourselves to pray, 
there is the face of Gop; for GoD is omnipresent and 
omniscient. (116) They say, Gop hath begotten children: 
Gop forbid! To him belongeth whatever is in heaven, and 
on earth; (117) all is possessed by him, the Creator of 








God in those sacred places. This passage, says Jaldluddin, was 
revealed on news being brought that the Romans had spoiled the 
temple of Jerusalem ; or else when the idolatrous Arabs obstructed 
Muhammad’s visiting the temple of Makkah in the expedition of al 
Hudaibiya, which happened in the sixth year of the Hijra,”—Sale. 

But Rodwell points out that this verse is misplaced here, in case 
it has reference to the Makkans who obstructed Muhammad’s visit to 
the Kaabah in the sixth year of the Hijra, 

‘* Muhammad little thought how this verse foreshadowed his suc- 
cessors, The Mosque of Omer at Jerusalem and the Mosque of St. 
Sophia will occur to the reader.”—Brinckman’s Notes on Islam. 

Those men cannot enter therein but with fear. This verse is referred ° 
to as authority for excluding Christians from the Musjid, especially . 
from the Kaabah, : 

(115) Whithersoever ye turn yourselves to pray, there rs the face of God. 
This verse is regarded by all commentators as abrogated by ver. 
145. It is said to have been revealed in) the interval between the 
abrogation of the command to pray toward Jerusalem and the final 
command to turn toward Makkah. A multitude of stories have been 
invented to explain the verse, but their recital would be unprofit- 
able. 

For God is omnipresent and omniscient. This is given as the reason 
for requiring no Qibla. Even the Muslim must be struck with the 
very strange inconsistency between this reasonable statement and 
the reason assigned in ver, 145 for the command to turn to Makkah 
as the Qibla. 

(116) They say, God hath begotten children. “This is spoken not 
only of the Christians and of the Jews (for they are accused of 
holding Uzair or Ezra to be the Son of God), but also the pagan 
Arabs, who imagined the angels to be daughters of God.”—Sale, 
Tafsir-1-Raufi. 

This charge indicates the ignorance of the Arabian prophet. 
Neither Jews nor Christians ever said God begot children in the sense 
here ascribed. ‘The charge was probably due to an inference drawn 
from the language used by Christians, and perhaps by Jews, in speak- 
ing of Christ and his people as the “Son of God” and “the children 
of God.” The charge against the Jews that they called Ezra the Son 
of God (chap. x. 30) is entirely without proof, and altogether beyond 
the region of probability. 

(117) Be, and it 1s. The doctrine that God creates out of nothing 
is here clearly recognised. Also his entire sovereignty over all things. 


e SIPARA I.] (Pass30e) (CHAP. IT. 


heaven and earth; and when he dreceeth a thing, he only 
saith unto it, Be, and it is. (118) And they who know 
not the scriptures say, Unless Gop speak unto us, or thou 
show us a sign, we will not believe. So said those before 
them, according to their saying: their hearts resemble 
each other. We have already shown manifest signs unto 
people who firmly believe; (119) we have sent thee in 
truth, a bearer of good tidings and a preacher; and thou 
shalt not be questioned concerning the companions of 
hell, (120) But the Jews will not be pleased with thee, 
neither the Christians, until thou follow their religion ; 
say, The direction of Gop is the ¢rue direction. And 
verily if thou follow their desires, after the knowledge 
which hath been given thee, thou shalt find no patron or 
protector against Gop. (121) They to whom we have 





(118) Or thou show us a sign. This passage points to the strong 
pressure brought to bear upon Muhammad, not only by Jews and 
Christians, but also by the Arabs, in their constant demand for 
miracles, Such passages also clearly show that Muhammad wrought 
no miracles. 

We have already shown manifest signs. Muhammad here probably 
alludes to the verses (Aydt, signs) of the Qurén as manifest signs to 
believers. 

(119) We have sent thee... a preacher. This is Muhammad’s 
claim concerning himself. He ever sets himself forth as a preacher, 
yet as a messenger of God, an apostle, by whom the Qurdén was to be 
conveyed to and enforced upon the world. The power by which it 
was to be enforced, at the time this passage was written, was persua- 
ston. The pains consequent on unbelief were the pains of hell-fire, 
Believers were not yet made by the power of the sword. 

Thou shalt not be questioned concerning the companions of hell. The 
Tafsir Husaini says these words were spoken in reply to the inquiry 
of Muhammad concerning his parents, who had died in idolatry. 
The meaning, however, seems to be that the prophet was not to 
dispute, but simply to proclaim the truth. If men would not believe, 
the responsibility rested with them. They thereby proved them- 
selves to be companions of hell. 

(120) Until thou follow their religion. We learn from this passage the 
crowing division between the Jews and Christians and Muhammad, 
who is now regarded as teaching doctrine which is far from attesting 
the faith of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Even Muhammad recognises 
“their religion” as different from his own, but yet different only as 
heresy differs from orthodoxy. | 

(121) Zhey to whom we have given the book. Sale, in his translation, 


CHAP. II.] Cu: 43400) [SIPARA I. * 


given the book of the Qurdm, and who read it with its true 


reading, they believe therein; and whoever believeth not 
therein, they shall perish. 

| (122) O children of Israel, remember my favour 
wherewith I have favoured you, and that I have pre- 
ferred you before all nations; (123) and dread the 
day wherein one soul shall not make satisfaction for 
another soul, neither shall any compensation be accepted 
from them, nor shall any intercession avail, neither shall 
they be helped. (124) Remember when the Lorp tried 
Abraham by certain words, which he fulfilled: Gop said, 
Verily I will constitute thee a model of religion unto 
mankind; he answered, And also of my posterity; GoD 
said, My covenant doth not comprehend the ungodly. 








supplies the words “of the Quran” after this sentence. Some Muslim 
commentators understand the passage in the same way; but the 
sentiment of the whole passage, as well as the interpretation of most 
Muslim commentators, 1s against it. The reference is to the Jewish 
and Christian Scriptures, and the meaning of the passage then is, 
“The direction of God is the true direction,” ¢.e., Islam, and those 
Jews and Christians who read their own Scriptures “ with its true 
reading,” t.e., who do not change or twist the evident import thereof, 
“they believe therein.” 

We have in this passage a distinct witness of Muhammad himself 
to the genuineness and credibility of the Scriptures extant in his 
own time, and in use among Jews and Christians. 

(122) O children of Israel. ... LI have preferred you before all 
nations, 2.¢., until the time of Muhammad. Then the descendants 
of Ishmael were not so approved by God.”—Brinckman’s Notes on 
Islam. 

This verse and the next are identical with vers. 46 and 47. 

(124) Remember when the Lord tried Abraham. “God tried Abraham 
chiefly by commanding him to leave his native country and to offer 
his son. But the commentators suppose the trial here meant related 
only to some particular ceremonies, such as circumcision, pilgrimage 
to the Kaabah, several rites of purification, and the like.”—WSale. 

Which he fulfilled. Which Abraham fulfilled by leaving his home 
and country, and, as Muslims believe, by offering up Ismail as a sacri- 
fice. See chap. xxxvil. 101-107. 

Verily L[ will constitute thee a model of religion. “I will establish 
thee the leader of the people.”—Savary. 

“TI have rather expressed the meaning than truly translated the 
Arabic word Imdém, which answers to the Latin Antistes. This title 
the Muhammadans give to their priests who begin the prayers in 
their mosques, and whom all the congregation follow.”—Suale. 


SIPARA I.] ( 335 ) [CHAP. II. 


(125) And when we appointed the holy house of Makkah to 
be a place of resort for mankind, and a place of security ; 
and said, Take the station of Abraham for a place of 
prayer; and we covenanted with Abraham and Ismail, 
that they should cleanse my house for those who should 
compass 2¢, and those who should be devoutly assiduous 
there, and those who should bow down and worship. (126) 


(125) The holy house. “Thatis, the Kaabah, which is usually called, 
by way of eminence, the house. Of the sanctity of this building and 
other particulars relating to it, see the Preliminary Discourse, p. 
180.”—Sale, 

The station of Abraham. “A place so called within the inner 
enclosure of the Kaabah, where they pretend to show the print of his 
foot in a stone.”—Sale. 

According to the Tafsir-t-Raufi, Abraham visited the house of 
Ismail in his absence, but not liking the treatment he received 
from his wife, left with her a message for his son, which was under- 
stood by Ismail to express a desire that he should divorce his wife. 
This he did, when he married another. Abraham came again in the 
absence of his son, and being urged by his daughter-in-law to descend 
from his camel and to permit her to wash his head, he declared that, 
owing to a vow not to leave his camel till he had completed his 
journey, he could not get down. Being pressed, however, he so far 
consented, that with one foot on his camel and the other on a stone 
he had his head washed! This is “the place of Abraham.” 

And we covenanted with Abraham and Ismail, de. The purpose of 
this passage seems to have been: (1.) To confirm in Arab minds their 
own traditions respecting Abraham -and Ismail as the founders of 
the temple at Makkah, and (2.) to present the prophet of Arabia as a 
reformer of Makkan idolatry, as Abraham was said to have been. 

Throughout the Quran Muhammad endeavours very adroitly on 
the one hand to imitate the Old Testament prophets, and on the 
other to make it appear that the circumstances of trial and opposition 
under which the Old Testament prophets laboured were precisely 
similar to those under which he laboured. 

For most satisfactory reasons for regarding this whole Muslim 
history of Abraham and Ismail as utterly unworthy of the least 
credit, see Introduction to Muir’s Life of Mahomet, pp. cxcili., cxciv., 
and ecix, note, 

The adoption of Arab and Jewish legend current in his day as 
true, and the promulgation of it as of divine authority, might be 
reconciled with the theory that Muhammad, though self-deceived, 
yet was honest in his prophetic character. But when we add to this 
his vacillation between the temples at Makkah and Jerusalem, fixing 
on the latter first, then expressing himself indifferent to either, and 
finally settling on Makkah, the inconsistency is a little too striking 
to tally with such a theory. 


CHAP. II.] (Seo AG Ee [SIPARA I. 


And when Abraham said, Lorp, make this a territory of 
security, and bounteously bestow fruits on its inhabitants, 
such of them as believe in Gop and the last day; Gop 
answered, And whoever believeth not, I will bestow on 
him little ; afterwards I will drive him to the punishment 
of hell-fire; an ill journey shall it be! (127) And when 
Abraham and Ismail raised the foundations of the house, 
saying, LoRD, accept 2 from us, for thou art he who heareth 
and knoweth: (128) Lorp, make us also resigned unto thee, 
and of our posterity a people resigned unto thee, and show 
us our holy ceremonies, and be turned unto us, for thou 
art easy to be reconciled, and merciful. (129) Lorp, 
send them likewise an apostle from among them, who 
may declare thy signs unto them, and teach them the 
book of the Qurdn and wisdom, and may purify them ; for 
thou art mighty and wise. 


(127) And when Abraham and Ismail raised the foundations of the 
house, &c. Muir, in his Life of Mahomet, Introduction, pp. exci. 
and excii., shows the whole story to be most clearly a legendary 
fiction. 

(128) Lord, make us also resigned. “The Arabic word is Muslimuna, 
in the singular Muslim, which the Muhammadans take as a title 
peculiar to themselves. The Europeans generally write and pro- 
nounce it Musalman.”—Sale. 

Rodwell has greatly improved the translation by retaining the 
original form of the word, “Lord, make us also Muslims, and our 
posterity a Muslim people,” &c. 

(129) Lord, send them likewise an apostle from among them, who may 
declare thy signs unto them, dc. If these words had. been put into 
the mouth of Moses, we might regard them as an allusion to Deut. 
xviii. 15. As they stand, and regarded in the light of Muhammad’s 
prophetic pretensions, the resemblance is probably accidental. 

Underlying these words there is the claim of the Quraish to be 
the children of Abraham, a claim which has little positive evidence 
in itsfavour. The negative proof derived from the fact that the Jews 
never denied it is, after all, very much weakened when we consider 
that a claim to be an Ishmaelite would be a matter of small interest 
to a Jew; besides, the general ignorance of Arabia and its people 
prevalent everywhere would naturally lead them to regard all Arabs 
as Ishmaelites, Under such circumstances, the silence of the Jews 
carries little weight with it. 

“ And wisdom, 2.e., the meaning of the Quran, or its declarations 
as to things required and forbidden, as to things clean and unclean, 
and thus through the law to purify them.”—Tafsir-1-Raw/i. 


SIPARA I.] (eo 7s 2) [CHAP. II. 


| (180) Who will be averse to the religion of Abraham, R Te 
but he whose mind is infatuated? Surely we have 
chosen him in this world, and in that which is to 
come he shall be one of the righteous, (131) When 
his LorpD said unto him, Resign thyself wnto me; he 
answered, I have resigned myself unto the Lorp of all 
creatures. (132) And Abraham bequeathed this religion 
to his children, and Jacob did the same, saying, My 
children, verily Gop hath chosen this religion for you, 
therefore die not, unless ye also be resigned. (133) Were 
ye present when Jacob was at the point of death? when 
he said to his sons, Whom will ye worship after me? 
They answered, We will worship thy Gop, and the Gop 
of thy fathers Abraham, and Ismail, and Isaac, one Gop, 
and to him will we be resigned. (154) That people are 
now passed away, they have what they have gained, and 
ye shall have what ye gain; and ye shall not be questioned 
concerning that which they have done. (135) They say, 
Become Jews or Christians that ye may be directed. _ Say, 








(130) The religion of Abraham, v.e., Islam. Whilst such language 
was intended to serve the purpose of winning the Jews, it expresses 
no real concession to them. In so far as they differed from Isldm, 
just so far had they departed from “the religion of Abraham.” 

(132) And Abraham bequeathed this religion to his children, and Jacob 
did the same, &c. That the religion referred to here is Isl4m is 
evident from the latter part of the verse. Understood in the sense 
intended by Muhammad, viz., that the Muslim faith was the religion 
of Abraham and the patriarchs, this statement is false. Accordingly, 
we have here a statement, which, if overthrown, carries with it the 
whole fabric of Muhammadanism built upon it. Hither the religion 
of Isldm was the religion of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or it was not. 
If it was, let us have the evidence of the former Scriptures, the 
witness of the former prophets. Failure here must stigmatise the 
whole system as a forgery. 

(134) They have what they have gained. “Or, deserved. The 
Muhammadan notion, as to the imputation of moral actions to man, 
which they call gawn or acquisition, is sufficiently explained in the 
Preliminary Discourse,” p. 156.—Sale, 

Ye shall not be questioned concerning that which they have done. 
Neither their virtues nor their vices will be accredited to you. 
Every man shall answer for his own sin. See chap. xxxv. 19. 

(135) They say, Become Jews or Christians, that ye may be directed. 
Say, Nay, de, We here learn the estimate which Muhammad put 

ee 


CHAP. II.] (32875) [SIPARA I. 


Nay, we follow the religion of Abraham the orthodox, who 
was no idolater. (136) Say, We believe in Gop, and that 
which hath been sent down unto us, and that which hath 
been sent down unto Abraham, and Ismail, and Isaac, 
and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which was delivered 
unto Moses, and Jesus, and that which was delivered unto 
the prophets from their Lorp: We make no distinction | 





upon the Judaism and Christianity of his day. They were systems 
of idolatry: the Jews regarding Ezra as the Son of God, as the 
commentators allege ; the Christians holding to a Trinity which, 
with Muhammad, consisted of God, Mary, and Jesus. See chap. iv. 
169; comp. chap. v..,116, and’ chap. xix. 36. The Muslim is 
taught to regard himself as a follower of that faith from which both 
Jew and Christian had wandered, the faith of Abraham, “who was 
no idolater.” 

The orthodox, Arabic Hanif, meaning one who has turned from 
good to bad, or from bad to good, Here the meaning is one who 
has turned from idolatry to the worship of the true God. See Rod- 
well’s note on chap. xvl. 121. 

(136) Say, We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down 
to us, dc. No passage in the Quran sets forth more clearly than 
this the claims of Islam. J¢ as the one true religion of all the pro- 
phets‘and apostles of God. It was the religion of Abraham, of Moses, 
and of Jesus. Upon this foundation the whole structure of Islam 
stands. The controversy between the Christian and the Muslim is, 
mainly, one as to fact. The principal question is, Does Islam con- 
serve within rtself the system of spiritual truth, the historical facts, 
and the plan of salvation set forth in the teachings of the patriarchs and 
prophets of the Old Testament dispensation, and of Jesus and his Apostles 
in the New? ‘This is the point which Muslims ever seek to evade, 
and yet this is the point which, above all others, they are bound to 
establish (see also above on ver. 132). 

That which hath been sent down unto Abraham, de, .. . we 
make no distinction between any of them. Two points of import- 
ance in the controversy with Muslims may be noted here :—First, 
it is here asserted that written revelations (books) ike unto the 
Quran were “sent down” from God “unto Abraham, and Ismail, 
and Isaac, and Jacob.” Where is the evidence of the truth of these 
statements? Where the proof that Ismail was a prophet at all? 
The Muslim will say that the testimony of the Quran is sufficient 
evidence. This is the argument of Muhammad himself in the next 
verse. But this same statement declares that the writings of Moses 
and Jesus are, equally with the Quran, to be regarded as the inspired 
Word of God. This is our second point. If, now, the Scriptures of 
the Old and New Testaments contradict or fail to corroborate these 
assertions of the Quran, then the Quran points to the evidence which 
refutes its own statements. The assertion of modern Muslims, that 
these books, the writings of Moses and Jesus included, are no longer 


SIPARA I. | C3000) [CHAP. Il. 


between any of them, and to Gop are we resigned. (137) 
Now if they believe according to what ye believe, ‘they 
are surely directed, but if they turn back, they are in 
schism. Gop shall support thee against them, for he is 
the hearer, the wise. (138) The baptism of Gop have we 
received, and who is better than Gop to baptize? him do 


extant, and that the books in the hands of Jews and Christians are 
either forgeries or old copies of the Scripture so full of corruptions 
as to be no longer credible, is itself evidence of the desperation of 
the Muslim apologist. Such an assertion is, of course, incapable of: 
proof. Notwithstanding, it is marvellous with what pertinacity the 
assertion continues to be made. 

(137) If they turn back, they are in schism. This last clause is 
translated in Rodwell, “they cut themselves off from you,” in the 
Tafsir-r-Raufi, “are in opposition and enmity to you;” in Abdul 
Qadir’s translation, ‘are opposed to you.” 

On his entry into Madina, Muhammad courted the favour of the 
Jews. Hoping to bring them over to acknowledge his prophetic pre- 
tensions, he expressed much reverence for the patriarchs of the Jews, 
and especially for Abraham, “the orthodox.” A similar desire to 
win the influence of the Abyssinian “‘ Najashi,’ and the Christian 
tribes of Yaman, drew forth from him similar expressions of respect 
for Jesus. His was the religion of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. 
Why should they not acknowledge him, seeing he had been sent to 
confirm the Scriptures of both Jew and Christian? His neighbours 
and fellow-townsmen, the Jews, demanded of him the proof of his 
claim. Failing to satisfy this very reasonable demand, he soon found 
the Jews to be his keenest opponents, whose objections he could not 
silence, save by the assassin’s knife and the fanatic’s sword. This 
verse marks the growing antipathy towards these. Failure to obey 
the ‘‘prophet” was now evident apostasy from God; refusal to accept 
the doctrines of Islam, evidence of enmity toward the Muslims. 

God will support thee against them. 'The bloody triumph over the 
Bani Quraidha and the Bani Nadhir is here foreshadowed. Areu- 
ment and miracle being denied him, Muhammad still relies on God. 
With this faith he instigates the assassination of Abu Afak, of Kab, 
and Ibn Sanina; exiles the Bani Nadhir and Qainucaa; and orders 
the slaughter of eight hundred men of the Bani Quraidha in cold 
blood. 

It is said that the blood of the Khalifah Othman, which was shed 
by an assassin’s hand while reading the Quran, fell upon the words 
of this verse. See Rodwell zn loco. 

(138) The baptism of God have we received. Rodwell translates 
this passage, “Islam is the baptism of God,” but says, “The original 
simply has ‘Baptism of God.’ This may be understood either of 
Islam generally, or, with Ullman, in the more restricted sense of 
circumcision.” | 

Sale says, “ By baptism is to be understood the religion which God 


SECOND 
SIPARA. 


aL: 
RY 


CHAP. II. | ( 345 4) [SIPARA II. 


we worship. (139) Say, Will ye dispute with us con- 
cerning Gop, who is our Lorp, and your Lorp? we have 
our works, and ye have your works, and unto him are we 
sincerely devoted. (140) Will ye say, truly Abraham, 
and Ismatl, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes were 
Jews or Christians? Say, are ye wiser, or Gop? And 
who is more unjust than he who hideth the testimony | 
which he hath recewed from Gop? But Gop is not regard- 
less of that which ye do, (141) That people are passed 
away, they have what they have gained, and ye shall have 
what ye gain, nor shall ye be questioned concerning that 
which they have done. 

|| (142) The foolish men will say, What hath turned 
them from their Qibla, towards which they formerly 
prayed? Say, Unto Gop belongeth the east and the 
west: he directeth whom he pleaseth into the right 





instituted in the beginning ; because the signs of it appear in the 
person who professes it, as the signs of water appear in the clothes 
of him that is baptized.” 

Abdul Qadir translates it “ The Colour of God,” and comments thus 
in the margin: ‘The Christians had a custom that when any one 
was introduced into their religion, they prepared a yellow colouring 
matter with which they coloured the man’s clothes and person. 
This verse was spoken in opposition to this practice.” The Tafsir-7- 
Raufi gives the same translation, and refers it to the baptism of 
infants by immersion in water coloured yellow, which was used for 
their purification. He understands the verse to mean, “that purifi- 
cation of Muslims from the contamination of idols by faith in God.” 

(139) Will ye dispute with us concerning God, &c.? “These words 
were revealed because the Jews insisted that they first received the 
Scriptures, that their Qibla was more ancient, and that no prophets 
could arise among the Arabs; and therefore if Muhammad was a 
prophet, he must have been of their nation.”—Sale, Jaldluddin. 

(140) Jews or Christians. The author of the notes on the Roman 
Urdu Quran calls attention to the anachronism of applying the 
names “Jew” and “Christian” to those who were dead centuries 
before these titles had any existence. 

Who hideth the testimony, de. “The Jews are again accused of 
corrupting and suppressing the prophecies in the Pentateuch relating 
to Muhammad.” —Sale. 

On this subject see further Prelim. Disc., p. 106, and notes on 
verse 74. 

(142) What hath turned them from their Qibla, dc. ? “At first, 
Muhammad and his followers observed no particular rite in turning 


SIPARA II.] (liar) [CHAP. II. 


way. (143) Thus have we placed you, O Arabians, an 
intermediate nation, that ye may be witness against the 
rest of mankind, and that the apostle may be a witness 








their faces towards any certain place or quarter of the world when 
they prayed, it being declared to be perfectly indifferent (ver. 115). 
Afterwards, when the prophet fled to Madina, he directed them to 
turn towards the temple of Jerusalem (probably to ingratiate himself 
with the Jews), which continued to be their Qibla for six or seven 
months ; but either finding the Jews too intractable, or despairing 
otherwise to gain the pagan Arabs, who could not forget their respect 
to the temple of Makkah, he ordered that prayers for the future should 
be towards the last. This change was made in the second year of 
the Hijra, and occasioned many to fall from him, taking offence at 
his inconstancy.”—Sale, Jalaluddin. 

The “foolish men” were the Jews and the disaffected among the 
people of Madina. Their folly consisted in their inability to recon- 
cile the statement of Muhammad in ver. 115, and his practice, for 
fifteen months, in turning towards Jerusalem, with the new command 
to turn towards the temple of the idolaters, Every appeal to reason 
was deprecated, and those claiming the right of private judgment 
were stigmatised as fools. All who failed to acquiesce in every 
proposal of the “prophet” were disaffected. Islim then, as now, 
demanded the entire submission of the intellect, as well as the will, to 
the dictum of the infallible prophet of an unattested revelation. 

Say, Unto God belongeth the east and the west, This is used as an 
argument to justify the change of Qibla. God may do as he pleaseth 
with hisown. The same statement is used in ver. 115 to show that 
no Qibla was necessary on the ground that God is everywhere present. 
“ Whithersoever ye turn yourselves to pray, there is the face of 
God.” It is a very convenient argument that will both prove the 
rationality of turning from one Qibla to another, and at the same 
time disprove the necessity for a Qibla at all! 

(143) Thus have we placed you, O Arabians, an intermediate nation, 
dc. Savary translates thus: “We have established you, O chosen 
people, to bear witness against the rest of the nation, as your apostle 
will bear it against you.” 

Rodwell says, “A central people,” instead of “intermediate 
nation.” 

Sale says, ‘The commentators (Jalaluddin, Yahya, &c.) will have 
the meaning to be, that the Arabians are here declared to be a most 
just and good nation.” 

The idea intended seems to me to be this : Makkah with the Kaabah 
being now constituted the sacred city of Islam, as Jerusalem with 
the temple was the sacred city of the Jews, Arabia was thereby made, 
so to speak, the centre of the world in matters of religion, and, con- 
sequently, the Arabians were constituted witnesses for the true 
religion against the rest of mankind, even as Muhammad was a 
witness for Isl4m against them, or, as Rodwell translates, “in regard 
to them.” 


CHAP. II.] (Bde) [SIPARA Il. 


acainst you. (144) We appointed the Qibla, towards 
which thou didst formerly pray, only that we might know 
him who followeth the apostle, from him who turneth 
back on the heels; though this change seem a great matter, 
unless unto those whom Gop hath directed. But Gop 
will not render your faith of none effect; for GoD is 
eracious and merciful unto man. (145) We have seen 
thee turn about thy face towards heaven with uncertainty, 
but we will cause thee to turn thyself towards a Qibla 
that will please thee. Turn, therefore, thy face towards 
the holy temple of Makkah ; and wherever ye be, turn your 
faces towards that place. They to whom the scripture 
hath been given, know this to be truth from their Lorp. 





Thus early we see the idea of a universal Islim developed in the 
mind of Muhammad, 

(144) We appointed the Qibla, ... only that we might know him 
who followeth the apostle, from him who turneth back on the heels. Many. 
of Muhammad’s followers, especially those who had come out from 
among the Jews, were offended at the manifest inconsistency of 
changing the Qibla from Jerusalem to the idolatrous city of Makkah 
with its pantheon. They naturally apostatised and returned to the 
faith of their fathers. Muhammad now pretends that the change 
was made as a test of their faith, whereas nothing is clearer than the 
fact, that, failing in his attempt to win over the Jews by the deference 
he had shown to their religion and the holy city, he now adopts a 
similar policy in recognising the Kaabah as the holy place, towards 
which prayer is to be made, in order to conciliate the favour of the 
Arabians. The duplicity and worldly policy of the “prophet” was 
too manifest to escape the notice of even many of his own disciples. 
These are the “fools” and “disaffected.” When facts were against 
the prophet of Arabia, it was only so much the worse for the facts ! 

But God will not render your faith of none effect. “ Or will not 
suffer it to go without its reward, while ye prayed towards Jeru- 
salem.”—Sale, 

(145) Turn, therefore, thy face towards the holy temple, dc. Abdul 
Qadir says that whilst Jerusalem was the Qibla, Muhammad desired 
to turn toward the Kaabah, and accordingly prayed “ toward heaven,” 
hoping for the command to change the Qibla to Makkah !: 

They to whom the Scripture hath been given know this to be truth 
from their Lord; 2.¢., the Jews know that this change of Qibla is in 
accordance with the divine command. The Tafsir-i-Raufi under- 
stands Christians to be also alluded to under the expression “they to 
whom the Scripture hath been given ;” but the circumstances under 
which the passage was written, viz., the final breach between Mu- 
hammad and Judaism, would limit the application here to the Jews. 


SIPARA II.] ( 843°) [CHAP. II. 


Gop is not regardless of that which ye do. (146) Verily 
although thou shouldest show unto those to. whom the 
scripture hath been given all kinds of signs, yet they will 
not follow thy Qibla, neither shalt thou follow their 
Qibla; nor will one part of them follow the Qibla of 
the other. And if thou follow their desires, after the 





Of course, the words have an equally fit application to Christians. 
In this verse we find distinct traces of deliberate deception and 
falsehood on the part of Muhammad. (a.) In his pretending to have 
been displeased with Jerusalem as the Qibla. He had been praying 
toward it for fifteen months, had taught others to pray in like 
manner, and had even built the first mosque of Isl4m with the pulpit 
towards Jerusalem. His “displeasure,” therefore, evidently grew out 
of his failure to win over the Jews, coupled with his desire to gain 
influence among the Arabs by constituting their sacred city the 
Qibla of his religion. (b.) Again, the assertion that the Jews knew 
by the teaching of their Scriptures that such a change was from the 
Lord, is so plainly false as to render it impossible to account for it 
on any rational ground other than that of deliberate fabrication. 

It may be said that Muhammad was deceived by the representa- 
tions of his converts from Judaism. If so, it would truly show him 
to be the “ignorant prophet.” But it must be remembered that this 
is not the word of Muhammad, but, according to Muhammad’s claim, 
the Word of God. He it is who is here made to sanction “the re- 
presentations” of such converts. But regarding these statements as 
made by Muhammad, we think his character, his shrewdness, his pro- 
found knowledge of the men he had to deal with, all combine to make 
the theory of his being himself deceived exceedingly improbable. 

(146) Verily although thow shouldest show... all kinds of signs, de. 
The opposition of the Jews had become so decided as to leave no 
hope of a reconciliation. They now charged him with worshipping 
toward a heathen temple, and with fickleness. These objections he 
now strives to meet by such “revelations” as this. ‘ But it was the 
victory at Badr, one or two months after, and the subsequent hos- 
tilities against the Jews, which furnished the only effective means 
for silencing their objections.”—Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. 111. p. 45. 

Nor will one part of them follow the Qubla of the other. ‘That 1s, 
each religion has its own (appointed) Kibla ; he refers, apparently, 
to Christians turning towards the east, and Jews towards Jerusalem ; 
whence Mahomet would argue a propriety in his having a peculiar 
and distinctive Kibla for lslam.”—AJfuir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. ii. 
p- 45, note. 

Muslim commentators refer the words to the Jews and Christians. 
I think the reference is to the Jews entirely. The preceding 
and succeeding context seems to demand this limitation. The his- 
tory of the passage seems also to demand it. The reference, then, 
may be to one of three possible differences of opinion among the 
Jews: (a.) Some may have questioned the propriety of worshipping 


| 


CHAP. II.] (“8440 -3) [SIPARA II. 


knowledge which hath been given thee, verily thou wilt 
become one of the ungodly. (147) They to whom we have 
given the scripture know our apostle, even as they know 
their own children; but some of them hide the truth, 
against their own knowledge. (148) Truth is from thy 
Lorp, therefore thou shalt not doubt. 

|| (149) Every sect hath a certain tract of heaven to 
which they turn themselves in prayer; but do ye strive 
to run after good things; wherever ye be, Gop will 
bring you all back at the resurrection, for GoD is al- 
mighty. (150) And from what place soever thou comest 
forth, turn thy face towards the holy temple; for this 
is truth from thy LorD; neither is Gop regardless of 
that which ye do. (151) From what place soever thou 
comest forth, turn thy face towards the holy temple; 
and wherever ye be, thitherward turn your faces, lest’ 
men have matter of dispute against you; but as for 
those among them who are unjust doers, fear them not, 


towards any Qibla, seeing the holy temple was destroyed; or 
(b.) the allusion may be to those who had espoused the cause of 
Isl4m ; or, (c.) what is most probable, reference may be had to the 
ancient difference in the holy mounts of Jew and Samaritan (J ohn 
iv. 20 and references’, 

(147) They to whom we have given the Scripture know our apostle, 
even as they know ther own children. “ 'That is, the Jews are really 
convinced of the truth of Muhammad’s mission.”— Rodwell. 

Is not the allusion to those who had now become the converts 
of Islam? Such a view is favoured by the concluding sentence, 
“but some of them hide the truth,” &c., referring to the unbelieving 
Jews. Ifitdo not have such areference, then we must place this state- 
ment in the catalogue of deliberate fabrications. See note on ver. 145. 

According to Abdul Qadir’s translation, the reference is not to 
Muhammad but to the propriety of the change of Qibla. The pas- 
sage then merely reiterates the statement of ver. 145. 

(148) Zruth ws from thy Lord. The “truth” referred to here is 
the new doctrine of the Qibla. See the same expression in vers. 
145 and 150. 

(151) Lest men have matter of dispute against you. Muhammad had 
acquired sufficient experience of the injury likely to be inflicted 
upon his religion by disputes concerning the proper Qibla to allow 
the possibility of any such disputes in the future. All must here- 
after turn toward Makkah in prayer. 

Unjust doers, a.¢., Jews and disaffected Arabs. 


SIPARA II. ] Cogent) [CHAP. II. 


but fear me, that I may accomplish my grace upon you, 
and that ye may be directed. (152) As we have sent 
unto you an apostle from among you, to rehearse our signs 
unto you, and to purify you, and to teach you the book of 
the Wurdn and wisdom, and to teach you that which ye 
knew not: (153) therefore remember me, and I will re- 
member you, and give thanks unto me, and be not unbe- 
levers. 


(152) An apostle from among you. The former nations, thus dis- 
tinguished, having rejected their prophets, are here regarded as 
apostates. Compare with chap. x. 14. The Arabs are now declared 
to be the chosen people of God, and, by implication, the Jews are 
stigmatised as rejected of God. The policy of the “‘ prophet” is now 
to flatter the national pride of his countrymen, and to quicken their 
zeal for religion by the doctrine that they are now, as believers, the 
favourites of Heaven. 

To rehearse our signs, 2.¢., the verses of the Quran, regarded as self- 
evidently divine. 

To purify you from idolatry and ceremonial defilement, The 
Tafsir-i-Raufi adds, “ He (the apostle) asks pardon for you, that you 
may be pure from your sins.” Muhammad, however, never claimed 
any such mediatorial office. In the Quran he repeatedly rejects the 
idea of a mediator altogether. See chap. vi. 50; vii. 188 ; xxxix. 42, 
&e, Islam requires no mediator; Muslims will be saved because they are 
Muslims. 

The fact, however, that Muhammad has been constituted a medi- 
ator by his followers, notwithstanding the teaching of the Quran, 
constitutes a powerful argument against Islam. Muslims, like other 
fallen men, feel their need of a mediator. They chose Muhammad 
for their intercessor ; but the Quran rejects the idea altogether. See 
chap. xliv. 41, 42, and references noted above. Islam, therefore, fails 
to satisfy the felt wants of sinful men everywhere. 

The book of the Quran. The term book, which is here used to de- 
scribe the collection of passages of Muhammad’s revelation, gives us 
reason to believe that the Qurdn was recorded in book form in the 
days of Muhammad himself. It is so often referred to under this 
appellation—the same as is applied to the writings of Moses—as to 
leave the impression that numerous copies were extant among the 
Muslims. 

(153) Remember me, and I will remember you. The Tafsir-1-Rauft 
comments on this as follows :—“ Remember me with gifts, that I 
may remember you with favours ; or remember me with worship, that 
I may remember you with benefits ; or remember me with prayer, 
that I may remember you with blessings ; or remember me among 
the people, that I may remember you among the angels.” 

This passage, with the commentary, expresses the legal spirit of 
Muhammadanism, notwithstanding the constant declaration that 
God is “merciful and gracious.” 


=] 
ie} 





CHAP. II.] (4600) [SIPARA II. 


| (154) O true believers, beg assistance with patience 
and prayer, for GoD is with the patient. (155) And say 
not of those who are slain in fight for the religion of 
Gop, that they are dead; yea, they are living: but ye do 
not understand. (156) We will surely prove you by 
afflicting you in some measure with fear, and hunger, and 
decrease of wealth, and Joss of lives, and scarcity of fruits : 
but bear good tidings unto the patient, (157) who, when a 
misfortune befalleth them, say, We are Gop’s, and unto 
him shall we surely return. (158) Upon them shall be 


(155) And say not of those who are slain in fight for the religion of 
God, that they are dead. Rodwell renders ‘in fight” by the phrase 
“on God’s path.” 

“ The original words are literally, who are slain in the way of God ; 
by which expression, frequently occurring in the Quran, is always 
meant war undertaken against unbelievers for the propagation of 
the Muhammadan faith.”—WSadle. 

Abdul Qadir says “that believers are here encouraged to labour 
and gather strength for the crusade.” 

Yea, they are wing. “The souls of martyrs (for such they esteem 
those who die in battle against infidels), says Jalaluddin, are in 
the crops of green birds, which have liberty to fly wherever they 
please in paradise, and feed on the fruits thereof.”—Sale. 

(156) We will surely prove you by afflicting you im some measure 
with fear and hunger, dc. This passage, beginning with ver..154, 
was intended to comfort those who had lost friends among the slain 
at the battle of Badr, and also those of the companions who, having 
suffered loss of property and health in the emigration from Makkah, 
had not yet enriched themselves by the plunder of the caravans of 
the unbelievers. 

(157) We are God's, and unto him shall we surely return. ‘An 
expression frequently in the mouths of the Muhammadans when 
under any great affliction or in any imminent danger.”—WSale, 

This sentence 1s believed to be laden with merit to those who use 
it in circumstances of trial and affliction. Even when the trial is 
past, if the pious repeat it at the remembrance of their grief, it is 
said to bestow great merit. The commentators have drawn from 
this verse and the one following the doctrine that sin is washed 
away from the souls of believers by means of suffering. The Tafsir-t- 
ftaufi declares, on the authority of Tirmuzi and others, that the man 
who has lost three sons by death may be absolutely certain of enter- 
ing paradise; the gates of hell, or rather purgatory, are closed 
against him, and much more to the same effect. Afiliction is there- 
fore submitted to by the Muslim in the perfect assurance that he 
will be the recipient of blessing hereafter. Thus it is robbed of its 
uses as @ Warning or as a judgment from God on account of sin. 


SIPARA II. ] (PEAT ine) oes [CHAP. II. 


blessings from their Lord and mercy, and they are the 
rightly directed. (159) Moreover Safa and Marwah are 
two of the monuments of Gop: whoever therefore goeth on 
pilgrimage to the temple of Makkah or visiteth 7, it shall 
be no crime in him, if he compass them both. And as for 
him who voluntarily performeth a good work; verily Gop 


(159) Moreover Safa and Marwah are two of the monuments of God, 
dc. Savary translates this verse as follows :—‘‘ He who shall have 
performed the pilgrimage of Makkah, and shall have visited the holy house, 
shall be exempted from offering an expiratory victim, provided that he 
maketh the circuit of those two mountains. He who goeth beyond what 
the precept requireth shall experience the gratitude of the Lord.” 

“Safa and Marwa are two mountains near Makkah, whereon were 
anciently two idols, to which the pagan Arabs used to pay a super- 
stitious veneration (Prelim. Disc., p. 42). Jaldluddin says this 
passage was revealed because the followers of Muhammad made a 
scruple of going round these mountains, as the idolaters did. But 
the true reason of his allowing this relic of ancient superstition seems 
to be the difficulty he found in preventing it. Abu’l Qasim Hiba- 
tullah thinks these last words are abrogated by those other, Who will 
reject the religion of Abraham, except he who hath infatuated his soul ? 
(ver. 130). So that he will have the meaning to he quite contrary 
to the letter, as if it had been, 2 shal/ be no crime in him tf he do not 
compass them. However, the expositors are all against him, and 
the ceremony of running between these two hills is still observed at 
the pilgrimage” (Prelim. Disc., p. 187).—Sale, 

The Tafsir-c-Raufi and Tafsir Fatah al aziz relate that in former 
times two pillars were erected on these two hills to commemorate 
the judgment of God upon two notable sinners, Asaf, a man, and 
Naila, a woman, who had committed adultery in the holy Kaabah. 
When the people fell into idolatry they worshipped these as images 
of God. This worship Muhammad abolished, whereupon some 
doubted the propriety of going round these hills. This verse was 
revealed to remove their scruples. 

The true reason for this “revelation” is given by Sale in his note 
quoted above. Muhammad found it easier to break the idols of his 
countrymen than to overcome their superstitions, hence the tolera- 
tion of an idolatrous custom, which the commentators would have 
us believe to be a relic of the religion of Abraham. 

God is grateful. The author of the notes on the Roman Urdu 
Quran says, “The teaching of this verse is that whoever performs 
the pilgrimage to the Kaabah, according to the commandment, has 
ereat merit ; but he who of his own accord makes the circuit of these 
two mountains, has such great reward that God becomes grateful 
and obligated to him!” He then compares with this the contrary 
teaching of the Bible (see Job xxii. 3, and Luke xvii. 10). 

But surely gratitude may be ascribed to God on the same principle 
that repentance is attributed to him in the Bible. 


R 


4 


CHAP. II. ] (ho ea) [SIPARA II. 


is grateful and knowing. (160) They who conceal any of 
the evident signs, or the direction which we have sent 
down, after what we have manifested unto men in the 
scripture, Gop shall curse them; and they who curse 
shall curse them. (161) But as for those who repent 
and amend, and make known what they concealed, I 
will be turned unto them, for I am easy to be recon- 
ciled and merciful. (162) Surely they who believe not, 
and die in their unbelief, upon them shall be the curse 
of Gop, and of the angels, and of all men; (163) they 
shall remain under it forever, their punishment shall not 
be alleviated, neither shall they be regarded. (164) Your 
Gop is one Gop; there is no Gop but He, the most mer- 
ciful. 

|| (165) Now in the creation of heaven and earth, and 


(160) They who conceal any of the evident signs, &c. ; r.¢., the Jews. 
See note on ver. 145. 

In the Scripture. . Rodwell says, “in the Book,” the allusion being 
to the Jewish Scriptures. 

They who curse. The Tafstr-c-Raufi understands the reference to 
the “angels, men, and genii.” He also promulgates the strange 
doctrine that when Muslims curse one another, seeing that curses 
cannot affect one of the faithful, they fall upon the Jews and others, 
who are justly exposed to a curse. 

“Yahya interprets it of the curses which will be given to the 
wicked, when they cry out because of the punishment of the 
sepulchre (see Prelim. Disc., p. 127), by all who hear them, that is, 
by all creatures except men and genii,”—WSale. 

(161) Make known what they concealed. Rodwell translates 
‘“‘make known the truth,” 7.2. of Islam, 

(162, 163) Upon them shall be the curse of God. These verses clearly 
teach that all are lost except Muslims. Their punishment is also 
eternal, 

Neither shall they be regarded. ‘God will not wait for their re- 
pentance.”—J aldluddin. 

(164) Your God is one God. The passage beginning with this verse 
and ending with verse 172 is probably Makkan. The truth here 
enunciated is taught with equal clearness in the Bible (Deut. vi. 4, 
Mark xii. 29). It might have been addressed to Jews at Madina, but 
the verses following, being addressed to idolaters, decide against this 
view. The idolaters of the Madina period of Muhammad’s ministry 
were spoken of in different terms. 

(165) This verse, says the Tafstr-i-Raufi, contains eight signs of 
divine power, thereby demonstrating the superiority of the one true 


SIPARA II.] ( 349 ) [CHAP. II. 


the vicissitude of night and day, and in the ship which 
saileth in the sea, Jaden with what is profitable for man- 
kind, and in the rain water which Gop sendeth from 
heaven, quickening thereby the dead earth, and replenish- 
ing the same with all sorts of cattle, and in the change of 
winds, and the clouds that are compelled to do service 
between heaven and earth, are signs to people of under- 
standing: (166) yet some men take idols beside Gop, and 
love them as with the love due to Gop; but the true be- 
levers are more fervent in love towards Gop. Oh, that 
they who act unjustly did perceive, when they behold 
their punishment, that all power belongeth unto Gop, 
and that he is severe in punishing. (167) When those 
who have been followed shall separate themselves from 








God over the three hundred and sixty idols which the Makkans wor- 
shipped. The Christian will be reminded of a similar style of 
argument used by the Apostle Paul at Lystra, and also at Athens 
(Acts xiv. 15-17, and xvili. 24-29). 

Compelled to do service. “The original word signifies properly that 
are pressed or compelled to do personal service without hire, which kind 
of service is often exacted by the Eastern princes of their subjects, 
and is called by the Greek and Latin writers angaria. The Scripture 
often mentions this source of compulsion or force, Matt. v. 41, xxvii. 
32, &e.”—Sale. 

(166) True believers are more fervent in love towards God. Love to- 
wards God is here recognised as a characteristic of believers. And 
yet this is a doctrine rarely taught in the Qurdn. In the Christian 
Scriptures this doctrine may be compared to Jordan, flowing conti- 
nually in an ever-widening stream through the length of the Holy 
Land ; but, in the Quran, it is like the occasional spring in the de- 
sert. The love of God is rarely presented as a motive to obedience. 

Oh, that they who act unjustly did perceive, ‘Orit may be trans- 
lated, Although the ungodly will percewe, &c. But, some copies, instead 
of yara, in the third person, read tara, in the second; and then it 
must be rendered, Oh, of thow didst see when the ungodly beheld their 
punishment, &c.”—Sale. 

We have here an illustration of the fact that the Quran, in its 
original text, is not entirely pure, as some writers seem to think. It 
has its various readings, like other ancient writings. A critical exa- 
mination of any considerable number of old manuscripts would pro- 
bably reveal a great many more such readings than are now known. 
Yet it may be safely asserted that the text of the Quran is the purest 
of all works of a like antiquity. | 

(167) Those who have been followed, de. “That is, when the 


ae 


ot 


N 
= 


CHAP. II.] (assor*) [SIPARA II. 


their followers, and shall see the punishment, and the 
cords of relation between them shall be cut in sunder ; 
(168) the followers shall say, If we could return to life, we 
would separate ourselves from them, as they have now 
separated themselves from us. So Gop will show them 
their works; they shall sigh grievously, and shall not 
come forth from the fire of hell. 

| (169) O men, eat of that which is lawful and good on 
the earth; and tread not in the steps of the devil, for he 
is your open enemy. (170) Verily he commandeth you 
evil and wickedness, and that you should say that of Gop 
which ye know not. (171) And when it is said unto them 
who believe not, Follow that which Gop hath sent down; 
they answer, Nay, but we will follow that which we found 
our fathers practise. What? though their fathers knew 
nothing, and were not rightly directed? (172) The unbe- 
lievers are like unto one who crieth aloud to that which 
heareth not so much as Avs calling, or the sound of his 
voice. They are deaf, dumb, and blind, therefore do they 








broachers or heads of new sects shall at the last day forsake or wash 
their hands of their disciples, as if they were not accomplices in their 
superstitions,” —NSale. 

(168) The followers shall say, &c. There shall be mutual antipathy 
between. the leaders of false systems of religion and their. followers. 
They shall spend an eternity of sighing and regret in the flames of 
hell. 

(169) Eat of that whichis lawful. Addressed to the Makkans, who, 
in the “times of ignorance,” had departed from the religion of Abra- 
ham, and being idolaters, ate things forbidden, especially swine’s 
flesh. So faithfully do Muslims obey this command that they regard 
even the name of the forbidden meat as polluting. 

The devil. Satan is the avowed enemy of mankind, and the insti- 
gator to idolatry and blasphemy. See chap. vii. 16, 17. 

(171) We will follow that which we found our fathers practise. The 
reproot here administered contains an important rule which may well 
be urged upon modern Muslims themselves. Nothing is more mani- 
fest than their perfect satisfaction with the religion of their fathers, 
and their unwillingness to consider even the possibility of their 
fathers having been mistaken. Such texts as this are very useful for 
those who would arouse them to examine the grounds of their faith. 

(172) Like one who crieth aloud, de, Abdul Qadir paraphrases 
thus: “ Teaching infidels is like calling to wild animals, who may 
hear a sound, but who do not understand.” 


SIPARA II.] (haa mi) [CHAP. II. 


not understand. (173) O true believers; eat of the good 
things which we have bestowed on you for food, and re- 
turn thanks unto Gop, if ye serve him. (174) Verily he 
hath forbidden you ¢o eat that which dieth of itself, and 
blood and swine’s flesh, and that on which any other name 
but Gop’s hath been invocated. But he who is forced by 
necessity, not lusting, nor returning to transgress, it shall 
be no crime in him 7f he eat of those things, for Gop is 
gracious and merciful. (175) Moreover they who conceal 
any part of the scripture which Gop hath sent down unto 
them, and sell it for a small price, they shall swallow into 


(173) A true belvever. Addressed to the people of Madina. See 
Rodwell on ver. 21. The exhortation corresponds with that of ver. 
169, addressed to the Makkans. The teaching here is, however, 
more explicit, detailing the articles forbidden. 

The redundancy found here is probably due to the judgment of 
those who compiled the Quran under the direction of Othman. Had 
this portion of the chapter been recited by Muhammad himself, we 
should not have this medley of Makkan and Madina passages. A 
tradition, on the authority of Hudhaifah, relates that Muhammad 
was in the habit of repeating the chapter of the Cow several times 
during a single night, besides other portions of the Quran (Matthews’ 
Mishqat-ul-Masdébih, chap. xxxii.) Such an exercise, in addition to 
ordinary sleep, would be impossible. It is therefore probable that 
much additional matter was added to these chapters by the compilers 
of the volume now called the Quran, though the names of the chap- 
ters and some portions of them were undoubtedly in use in the days 
of Muhammad. To these were added other revelations gathered 
from the contents of the box in Hafza’s keeping and from the memo- 
ries of men. 

(174) He hath forbidden, dc. Godfrey Higgins, in his Apology for 
the Life and Character of Mahomet, p. 33, expresses the belief that 
these prohibitions were made for sanitary reasons. But it is much 
more likely that he adopted them from the religion of the Jews. 
Sanitary considerations would have required the prohibition of 
camel’s flesh as well as that of swine. Yet modifications were made 
out of deference to Arab prejudice, as was done in the changing of 
the Qibla. An illustration of this is found in the permission to eat 
‘ camel’s flesh, already alluded to, 

On which any other name, de. “ For this reason, whenever the 
Muhammadans kill any animal for food, they always say Bismillah, 
or, In the name of God ; which, if it be neglected, they think it not 
lawful to eat of it.”—Sale. 

Forced by necessity. That is, if forbidden meats be eaten under 
compulsion, or to save one’s life.— Abdul Qadir, Tafsir-1-Raufi. 

(175) See notes on ver. 160, 


CHAP. II.] (argc) [SIPARA IT. 


their bellies nothing but fire; Gop shall not speak unto 
them on the day of resurrection, neither shall he purify them, 
and they shall suffer a grievous punishment. (176) These © 
are they who have sold direction for error, and pardon for 
punishment: but how great will their suffering be in the 
fire! This they shall endure, because Gop sent down the 
book of the Qurdn with truth, and they who disagree con- | 
cerning that book are certainly in a wide mistake. 

|| (177) It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces 
in prayer towards the east and the west, but righteousness 
is of him who believeth in Gop and the last day, and the 
angels, and the scriptures, and the prophets; who giveth 
money for Gon’s sake unto his kindred, and unto orphans, 
and the needy, and the stranger, and those who ask, and 
for redemption of captives ; who is constant at prayer, and 
civeth alms; and of those who perform their covenant, 





(176) Sold direction for error, dc. An exposition of the phrase, 
* Selling for a small price,” ver. 175. 

God sent clown the book of the Quran. Many Muslim commentators 
agree in referring the “book” to the Pentateuch. The meaning 
then would be that the Jews shall be accounted worthy of the pun- 
ishment above described, because, having the Pentateuch by them, 
with its prophecies concerning Muhammad, they have “ concealed 
the Scriptures which God hath sent down unto them.” The passage 
is not explicit, and may refer also to the Qur4n. The former view 
agrees best with the preceding context, the latter with what follows. 
Modern Muslims, by their “ concealment of the former Scriptures,” 
and their constant disputing ‘concerning that Book,” bring them- 
selves under the condemnation of their own prophet. 

(177) Righteousness 1s of hum who believeth on God, &c. This is one 
of the noblest verses in the Quran. It clearly distinguishes between 
a formal and a practical piety. Faith in God and benevolence to- 
wards man is clearly set forth as the essence of religion. It contains 
a compendium of doctrine to be believed as well as of precept to be 
practised in life. 

The Scriptures. Not only the Qurén, but the “former Scrip- 
tures,” accepted by Jews and Christians, besides the writings (Sahife) 
of Adam, ten, of Seth, fifty, of Enoch (/dris), thirty, and of Abraham, 
ten, in all one hundred and four books, 

The prophets, ‘This word being in the masculine plural, Muslim 
commentators generally agree that there were no prophetesses, For 
doctrine and practice set forth here, see Preliminary Discourse, 


pay 


SIPARA II. ] sous) [CHAP. II, 


when they have covenanted, and who behave themselves 
patiently in adversity, and hardships, and in time of vio- 
lence ; these are they who are true, and these are they who 
fear Gop. (178) O true believers, the law of retaliation is 
ordained you for the slain: the free shall die for the free, 
and the servant for the servant, and a woman for a woman ; 
but he whom his brother shall forgive may be prosecuted, 
and obliged to make satisfaction according to what is just, 
and a fine shall be set on him with humanity. This is 
indulgence from your LorD, and mercy. And he who 
shall transgress after this, by killing the murderer, shall 








(178) For the Mosaic “ law of retaliation,” see Levit. xxiv. 17-22. 
The Quran modifies this law, which was probably nearly identical 
with the ancient Arab law, so as to distinguish between the life of a 
freeman and that of a slave, between the life of a woman and that 
of a man, and to provide for the settlement of a blood-claim by the 
payment of money. It is scarcely necessary to point out the fact that 
this law deals a blow at the equality of man, based on a universal 
brotherhood, and that it opens the door to untold oppression and 
tyranny of masters over servants, of husbands over wives, and of man 
over woman. It cannot be fairly claimed that the moral and social 
laws of Isldm are even an advance on those of Judaism, much less 
on those of Christianity. The law as here stated is abrogated by 
chap. v. 49, and xvii. 35. 

The free shall die for the free, ... woman for woman. “ This is 
not to be strictly taken ; for, according to the Sunnat, a man also is to 
be put to death for the murder of a woman. Regard is also to be 
had to difference in religion, so that a Muhammadan, though a slave, 
is not to be put to death for an infidel, though a freeman. But the 
civil magistrates do not think themselves always obliged to conform 
to this last determination of the Sunnat.”—Sale, Jaladluddin. 

He whom his brother shall forgive, &c.—Rodwell translates this pas- 
sage: “ He to whom his brother shall make any remission (that is, 
by killing the manslayer), is to be dealt with equitably ; and to him 
should he pay a fine with liberality.” Savary translates thus: “ He 
who forgiveth the murderer of his brother (brother used in a religious 
sense) shall have the right of requiring a reasonable reparation, which 
shall be thankfully paid.” So, too, in the main, Abdul Qadir, Hus- 
aini, and Tafsir-i-Raufi. The meaning is, that whenever a murderer 
has been spared by the avenger of blood, he must pay a fine to the 
said avenger. This must then be regarded as a final settlement. 
If, after receiving the amount of the fine, the avenger kill the man- 
slayer, he “shall suffer a grievous punishment.” Presumably he 
would be regarded as a common murderer. Sale says, “This is 
the common practice in Muhammadan countries, particularly in 
Persia.” 


Z 


a = 
» 


CHAP. II.] BCussi=) [SIPARA II. | 


suffer a grievous punishment. (179) And in this law of 
retaliation ye have life, O ye of understanding, that per- 
adventure ye may fear. (180) It is ordained you, when 
any of you is at the point of death, if he leave any goods, 
that he bequeath a legacy to his parents, and kindred, 
according to what shall be reasonable. “This is a duty 
incumbent on those who fear Gop. (181) But he who shall 
change the legacy, after he hath heard it bequeathed by the 
dying person, surely the sin thereof shall be on those who 
change it, for Gop is he who heareth and knoweth. 
(182) Howbeit he who apprehendeth from the testator 
any mistake or injustice, and shall compose the matter 
between them, that shall be no crime in him, for Gop is 
gracious and merciful. . 

|| (183) O true believers, a fast is ordained you, as it 
was ordained unto those before you, that ye may fear 





(179) In this law... ye have life; ze, this law has been enacted 
asa benevolent measure, whereby blood-feuds might be finally settled, 
and thus life be saved. 

(180) A legacy to his parents, dc. Muslim commentators, on the 
authority of Baidhawi, say this law was enacted to correct the custom 
of the ancient Arabs, whereby parents and relatives were sometimes 
disinherited in favour of the religious mendicant. These translate 
the words rendered in the text, “ This 1s a duty incumbent on,” &c., so 
as to read, “ There isa duty toward the temperate,” 2.¢,, faqirs or men- 
dicants; and they understand that not more than one-third of the 
property of the testator may be devoted to such persons. How- 
ever, they believe this law to have been abrogated by the law con- 
cerning inheritance in chap. iv., and that there is therefore now no 
law requiring them to will any of their substance to charitable 
objects. See Abdul Qadir in loco. 

The principal passages of the Quran relating to the law of inherit- 
ance are the following :—chaps. iv. 6-13, 175, and v. 105-107. 

(181, 182) These verses contain & warning to those who would 
tamper with a will after it has been made, and at the same time pro- 
vide for the correction of a will made contrary to law. Some writers 
understand them to refer to the friendly mediation of those who suc- 
ceed in securing a change in the will, in the interest of justice, before 
the death of the testator. See ZVafsir-2-Rauft. 

(183) A fast is ordammed, de. Muir, in his Life of Mahomet, vol. 
ili. pp. 47, 48, conjectures that fasting was not observed by the Mus- 
lims till after the flight to Madina. The following is his account of 
its institution :— 

“Two or three months after his arrival in Medina, Mahomet ob- 


SIPARA II.] Cassa) [CHAP., IL. 


Gop. (184) A certain number of days shall ye fast: but 
he among you who shall be sick, or on a journey, shall fast 
an equal number of other days. And those who can keep 
wt, and do not, must redeem their neglect by maintaining of 
a poorman. And he who voluntarily dealeth better with 
the poor man than he ts obliged, this shall be better for 
him. But if ye fast, it will be better for you, if ye knew 


served the Jews, on the tenth day of their seven month, keeping the 
great fast of the Atonement, and he readily adopted it for his own 
people, Prior to this, fasting does not appear to have been a pre- 
scribed ordinance of Islam. It was established at a period when the 
great object of Mahomet was to symbolise with the Jews in all their 
rules and ceremonies. 

“But when it became his endeavour to cast off Judaism and its 
customs, this fast was superseded by another. Eighteen months 
after his arrival in Medina, Mahomet promulgated, as a divine com- 
mand, that the following month, or Ramadhan, was to be henceforth 
observed as an annual fast. Although the new ordinance was 
professedly similar in principle to that of the Jews, the mode of its 
observance was entirely different.” 

This verse is said to be abrogated by ver. 187. 

(184) A certain number of days ; the whole of the month Rama- 
dhan. See next verse. 

Those who can keep rt, de. Sale says, The expositors differ much 
about the meaning of this passage, thinking it very improbable that 
people should be left entirely at liberty either to fast or not, on com- 
pounding for it in this manner. Jalaluddin, therefore, supposes the 
negative particle not to be understood, and that this is allowed only 
to those who are not able to fast, by reason of age or dangerous sick- 
ness; but afterwards he says, that in the beginning of Muhammad- 
anism it was free for them to choose whether they would fast or 
maintain a poor man, which liberty was soon after taken away, and 
this passage abrogated by the following: Therefore let him who shall 
be present in this month, fast the same month. Yet this abrogation, he 
says, does not extend to women with child or that give suck, lest 
the infant suffer. 

‘¢ Al Zamakhshari, having first given an explanation of Ibn Abbas, 
who, by a different interpretation of the Arabic word Yuttkindhu, 
which signifies can or are able to fast, renders it, Those who find great 
difficulty therein, &c., adds an exposition of his own, by supposing 
something to be understood, according to which the sense will be, 
Those who can fast, and yet have a legal excuse to break it, must 
redeem tt,” &e. 

Abdul Qadir understands that those who are able to fast and do 
‘not are here required to redeem their neglect, as Sale has it in the 
text, by feeding a poor man for one day. So, too, the Vafsir-1-Raujfi, 
Rodwell, also, in his translation, recognises the same meaning. 


CHAP. II.] (350%) [SIPARA II. 


it. (185) The month of Ramadhan shall ye fast, in which 
the Quran was sent down from heaven, a direction unto 
men, and declarations of direction, and the distinction 
between good and evil. Therefore, let him. among you who 
shall be present in this month, fast the same month ; but 
he who shall be sick, or on a journey, shall fast the like 
number of other days. Gop would make this an ease unto. 
you, and would not make i a difficulty unto you; that ye 
may fulfil the number of days, and glorify Gop, for that 
he hath directed you, and that ye may give thanks. 
(186) When my servants ask thee concerning me, Verily 
I am near; I will hear the prayer of him that prayeth, 
when he prayeth unto me: but let them hearken unto 


(185) Ramadhdén. The ninth month of the Muslim year, in the 
latter part of which occurs the Laylut ul Qadr, or Night of Power, in 
which the Qurdn was brought down to the lowest heaven. See 
Hughes’ Notes on Muhammadanism, chap. xx.; also Prelim. Disc., 

ae hg 
: The distinction. The Arabic word is furqén, a term derived from 
the Hebrew, and applied to the Pentateuch as well as to the Quran. 
See ver. 52. 

Shall be present, 7.¢., “at home, and not in a strange country, where 
the fast cainot be performed, or on a journey.” ~ Sale, 

Children who have not reached the age of puberty are exempt 
from the observance of this fast. 

God would make this an ease unto you. This is said in reference to 
the sick and others exempted above. It may also refer to what is 
said below in ver. 187. With all these alleviating circumstances, 
however, the strict observance of this fast, during the long days of a 
tropical summer, is anything but an ease to the Muslim. Muir 
thinks Muhammad did not foresee the hardship that would ensue in 
the observance of this fast, when he changed the Jewish intercalary 
year for the lunar (Life of Mahomet, chap. ill. p. 49). But there is 
reason to believe the month occurred originally during the hot 
season, the word Ramadhdén being derived from ramadh, to burn. 
The words of the text, therefore, “probably refer to the present ob- 
servance as being easy in comparison with the more rigid practice in 
the beginning. "This interpretation presumes that this passage was 
revealed some time after ver. 18 5 

(186) Z will hear the prayer. The special reference is to prayers 
offered during the fast. Faith and obedience are here declared to be 
necessary to successful prayer. A tradition says, “The person who 
observes the prayers particularly appointed for the nights of Rama- 
dhan, shall be forgiven all his past faults!” Surely if the fast be of 
difficult observance, the way of pardon seems easy enough. 


SIPARA II.] (fetar7™ s) [CHAP. II. 


me, and believe in me, that they may be rightly directed. 
(187) It is lawful for you, on the night of the fast, to go 
in unto your wives; they are a garment unto you, and ye 
are a garment unto them. Gop knoweth that ye defraud 
yourselves therein, wherefore he turneth unto you, and 
forgiveth you. Now, therefore, go in unto them; and 
earnestly desire that which Gop ordaineth you, and eat 
and drink, until ye can plainly distinguish a white thread 
from a black thread by the daybreak: then keep the fast 
until night, and go not in unto them, but be constantly 
present in the places of worship. These are the prescribed 
bounds of Gop, therefore draw not near them to transgress 
them. Thus Gop declareth his signs unto men, that ye 
may fear him. (188) Consume not your wealth among 
yourselves in vain; nor present it unto judges, that ye 
may devour part of men’s substance unjustly, against your 
own consciences. 

|| (189) They will ask thee concerning the phases of the 
moon: Answer, They are times appointed unto men, and 


(187) This verse seems to show clearly that the Muslims at first 
felt bound to continue, in some measure, the rigour of the fast 
during the night. 

They are a garment unto you, de. ‘A metaphorical expression, to 
sionify the mutual comfort a man and his wife find in each other.”— 
Sale. 

Earnestly desire. Some commentators understand this to have 
special reference to the desire for children. 

A white thread from a black thread. A form of expression used by 
the Jews also (see Rodwell), signifying early dawn. 

Be constantly pressing, d&:c. This seclusion is called ’lét/qaéf, and is 
observed by remaining in the mosque during the day, abstaining 
from all worldly thoughts and conversation, and by reading the 
Quran and religious books. Hughes’ Notes on Muhammadanism, 
chap. xx 

(188) This verse is understood by Muslim commentators to for- 
bid every species of prodigality and dishonesty in dealing with one 
another. If so, scarcely any precept of the Qurdn is so universally 
transgressed as this. 

(189) Enter your houses, dc. “Some of the Arabs had a supersti- 
tious custom after they had been at Makkah (in pilgrimage, as it seems), 
on their return home, not to enter their house by the old door, but 
to make a hole through the back part for a passage, which practice is 
here reprehended,”—Sale, 


als 


CHAP. II. ] C3 5S [SIPARA II. | 


to show the season of the pilgrimage to Makkah. It is not 
righteousness that ye enter your houses by the back parts 
thereof, but righteousness is of him who feareth Gop. 
Therefore enter your houses by their doors; and fear Gop, 
that ye may be happy. (190) And fight for the religion 
of Gop against those who fight against you; but trans- 
cress not by attacking them first, for Gop loveth not the 
transeressors. (191) And kill them wherever ye find 
them, and turn them out of that whereof they have dis- 
possessed you; for temptation to idolatry is more grievous 
than slaughter; yet fight not against them in the holy 


(190-193) Fight for the religion of God. This is, perhaps, the first 
expressed command of the Arabian prophet to establish his religion 
by the sword. Whilst in Makkah he appeared in the simple garb of a 
preacher, and this he retained for a while at Madina (ver. 119 supra). 
There he advised his persecuted followers to flee from their enemies, 
Even at Madina he advises them to “forgive and avoid” their adver- 
saries (ver. 108). He now finds himself in circumstances to take a 
bolder, though certainly a less noble stand. The Muslims are now to 
ficht not only in defence of their faith, but are enjoined to overthrow 
idolatry by the sword (see ver. 193). It is probable that a number 
of injunctions, delivered at different times at Madina, are gathered 
together in this passage, inasmuch as the strong language of vers. 
192 and 193 is scarcely reconcilable with the injunction of ver. 190 
to fight simply in defence of Islam. ; 

(191) Kill them, dc. Much is made of expressions like this, by 
some Christian apologists, to show the cruel character of the Arabian 
prophet, and the inference is thence drawn that he was an impostor 
and his Quran a fraud. Without denying that Muhammad was 
cruel, we think this mode of assault to be very unsatisfactory to say 
the least, as it is capable of being turned against the Old Testament 
Scriptures. If the claim of Muhammad to have received a divine 
command to exterminate idolatry by the slaughter of all impenitent 
idolaters be admitted, I can see no objection to his practice. The 
question at issue is this, Did God command such slaughter of idola- 
ters, as he commanded the destruction of the Canaanites or of the 
Amalekites? Taking the stand of the Muslim, that God did so com- 
mand Muhammad and his followers, his morality in this respect may 
be defended on precisely the same ground that the morality of Moses 
and Joshua is defended by the Christian. 

Fight not... i the holy temple; ve, the Kaabah. Ordinarily, 
the sanctity of the temple at Makkah would have been a safeguard 
to an enemy, but the antipathy between the Makkans and the 
Muslims was now so great as to make it probable that the latter 
might be attacked even in the Kaabah. This permission is, however, 
abrogated by chap. ix, 5. 


SIPARA II.] i ath aroun) [CHAP. II. 


temple, until they attack you therein; but if they attack 
you, slay them there. This shall be the reward of infidels. 
(192) But if they desist, Gop is gracious and merciful. 
(193) Fight therefore against them, until there be no 
temptation to idolatry, and the religion be Gon’s; but if 
they desist, then let there be no hostility, except against 
the ungodly. (194) A sacred month for a sacred month, 
and the holy limits of Makkah, of they attack you therein, do 
ye also attack them therein wm retaliation; and whoever 
transgresseth against you by so downg, do ye transgress 
against him in like manner as he hath transgressed against 
you, and fear Gop, and know that Gop is with those who 
fear him. (195) Contribute out of your substance toward 
the defence of the religion of Gop, and throw not your- 
selves with your own hands into perdition; and do good, 


(192) If they desist, dc. If they repent and accept Islam, Z'afsér-2- 
Raufi. 

(198) Until . . . the religion.be God’s, This expresses the breadth 
of the claim of Islam. Idolatry must be extirpated, and the religion 
of Islam be vindicated by God as his own, through the overthrow of 
idolatry. It is probable that Muhammad had as yet no idea of ex- 
tending his religion beyond the borders of Arabia, but the idea here 
attached to it would logically lead to its propagation everywhere. 

Laxcept against the ungodly ; 2.¢., those who were worthy of punish- 
ment on other grounds than that of their faith. 

(194) A sacred month. See Prelim. Disc., p. 228. Rodwell trans- 
lates: “The sacred month and the sacred precincts are under the 
safeguard of reprisals,” and says, “The meaning of this difficult 
passage is, that in wars for the cause of religion, the sacred month 
and the temple of Mecca may be made the time and scene of con- 
tests, which then and there are usually prohibited.” 

Transgress against him. Contrast this with the teaching of Christ 
(Luke vi. 27-31). Love to enemies is a doctrine unknown to Islam. 
Forgiveness of such, whenever enjoined (ver. 108), was dictated as a 
matter of policy, not of compassion or love. 

(195) Contribute of your substance. The duty enjoined here is not 
identical with that of giving Zikdt or legal alms. It means more, 
having reference to all that may be necessary to carry on a holy war. 
The verse is closely connected with those preceding. The faithful 
are therefore not only to kill the infidels, but spend their substance 
freely to help others, especially the Ghdzis or fanatical crusaders of 
Isl4m, by supplying them with food and the materials of war. 

Throw not yourselves . . . tnto perdition, r.¢., “be not accessory to 
your own destruction, by neglecting your contributions towards the 


CHAP. I1.] Ci 36a 7) [SIPARA II. 


for Gop loveth those who do good. (196) Perform the 
pilgrimage of Makkah, and the visitation of Gon ; and, if ye 
be besieged, send that offermg which shall be the easiest ; 
and shave not your heads, until your offering reacheth the 
place of sacrifice. But, whoever among you is sick, or is 
troubled with any distemper of the head, must redeem 


wars against infidels, and thereby suffering them to gather strength.” 
— Sale. 7 

Do good. Do good to the Ghdzis. If they are in want, give them 
money ; if on foot, give them carriage ; if married and unprovided, 
give them equipment, Without doubt God is a friend of them that 
do good.— Zafsir-1-Raufi. 

This passage illustrates how easily readers of the English transla- 
tion of the Quran may be misled by the bias of their own language. 

(196) Perform the pilgrimage and the visitation, t.¢., the Hajj or 
greater pilgrimage, and Umrah or lesser pilgrimage. The former is 
absolutely necessary, provided the Muslm possesses the means 
necessary for the journey. The latter is meritorious, and its rites 
may be performed at any time, while the rites of the Hajj may only 
be performed on the three days intervening between the seventh . 
and tenth of the month Dhul Hajja. See Prelim. Disc., pp. 186-188, 
and Hughes’ Notes on Muhammadanism, second edition, chap. xxii. 

The rites and ceremonies connected with the Hajj and Umrah are 
exceedingly puerile, and decidedly inconsistent with the spirit of 
Islam. The idolatrous customs of the ancient Arabs, though sancti- 
fied by the teaching of the Quran and the example of Muhammad, 
but poorly comport with the monotheistic teaching of the reformer 
of Makkah, and come far short of “ confirming the former Scriptures.” 
Its sanction by Muhammad is one of the darkest blots on his religion, 
and shows at the same time how far the politician of Madina differed 
from the preacher of Makkah. How his apologists fail to see the 
inconsistency of his conduct and teaching here, not only with the 
dignity of a prophet of God, but with the character of an honest 
man, is beyond our comprehension. The kissing of the Black Stone 
and the Yamdni Pillar was so manifestly inconsistent with the doc- 
trine of Islam, that naught but the example of the prophet and the 
implicit obedience of his followers secured its perpetuation. The 
fiery Omar, kissing the stone, said, “ Verily I know that thou art a 
stone; thou dost no good or harm in the world, and if it was not 
that I saw the prophet kiss thee, I would not kiss thee !”—Matthews’ 
Mishgat ul Masadbih, book xi. chap. iv. part ili. 

If ye be besieged. By sickness as well as by enemies. 

Send that offering, dc. The offering must be at the rate of one 
goat for a single person, or a cow or a camel for every seven persons. 

Shave not your heads, dc. “For this was a sign they had com- 
pleted their vow, and performed all the ceremonies of the pilgrim- 
age.” —Sale, Jaldluddin. 


SIPARA II.] (30 t) [CHAP. II. 


the shaving his head, by fasting, or alms, or some offering. 
When ye are secure from enemies, he who tarrieth in the 
visitation of the temple of Makkah until the pilgrimage, shall 
bring that offering which shall be the easiest. But he who 
findeth not anything to offer, shall fast three days in the 
pilgrimage, and seven when ye are returned: they shall 
be ten days complete. This 7s incwmbent on him whose 
family shall not be present at the holy temple. And fear 
Gop, and know that Gop is severe in punishing. 

|(197) The pilorimage must be performed in the known 
months: whosoever therefore purposeth to go on pilgrim- 
age therein, let him not know a woman, nor transgress, 
nor quarrel in the pilgrimage. The good which ye do, 
Gop knoweth it. Make provision for your journey ; but 
the best provision is piety; and fear me, O ye of under- 
standing. (198) It shall be no crime in you, if ye seek 


an increase from your Lorb, by trading during the pil- 


Fasting, or alms, or some offering, 1.¢., “ either by fasting three days, 
or feeding six poor people, or sacrificing a sheep.”— Sale. 

He who tarrveth, de. “This passage is somewhat obscure. Yahya 
interprets it of him who marries a wife during the visitation, and 
performs the pilgrimage the year following. But Jalaluddin ex- 
pounds it of him who stays within the sacred enclosures, in order to 
complete the ceremonies which (as it should seem) he had not been 
able to do within the prescribed time.”—Sale, 

(197) The known months, 1.2, Shawal, Dhul Qaada, and Dhul 
Hajja. See Prelim. Disc., p. 186. 

(198) It shall be no crime, de. In the days of Muhammad, as at 
the present time, Makkah was dependent for its importance as a city 
upon the great annual pilgrimage. Situated in a comparatively 
barren region, not only its own food-supply was brought from a dis- 
tance, but also the provisions necessary for the multitudes flocking 
to it from all parts of Arabia had to be procured by caravans from 
the surrounding country. For this reason it was possible for many 
pilgrims to carry on a profitable trade while fulfilling the require- 
ments of their religion, The service of God and mammon could 
thus be undertaken at the same time. The temporising policy of 
the Arabian prophet is here again apparent in sanctioning a practice 
which he either could not prevent, or which, if condoned, would 
minister to the purposes of his religion. He not only does so, but 
actually suggests a worldly motive as an incentive to the perform- 
ance of an otherwise hard duty. The gifts of mammon now became 
“an increase from your Lord.” Compare with our Lord’s treatment 
of the servants of mammon at Jerusalem (John ii, 14-16). 


CHAP. II. | (e362) [SIPARA II. 


grimage. And when ye go in procession from Arafat 
remember Gop near the holy monument; and remem- 
ber him for that he hath directed you, although ye were 
before this of the number of those who go astray. (199) 
Therefore go in procession from whence the people go in 
procession, and ask pardon of Gop, for GoD is gracious 


Procession. ‘The original word signifies to rush forward wmpetu- 
ously, as the pilgrims do when they proceed from Arafat to Muz- 
dalita.”—Sale. 

Arafat. “A mountain near Makkah, so called because Adam there 
met and knew his wite after a long separation. Yet others say that 
Gabriel, after he had instructed Abraham in all the sacred cere- 
monies, coming to Arafat, there asked him if he knew the ceremonies 
which had been shown him, to which Abraham answering in the 
affirmative, the mountain had thence its name.”—Sale. These 
stories are probably inventions, suggested by the meaning of the 
word Arafat. See also note on ver. 35. 

The holy monument. * “In Arabic, Al Mashar al hardm. It is a 
mountain in the farther part of Muzdalifa, where it is said Muham- 
mad stood praying and praising God, till his face became extremely - 
shining.”—Sale. This legend is probably adapted from the story of 
the shining of Moses’ face on Sinai. 

Remember him, dc. The heathen customs of circling round the 
Kaabah, kissing the Black Stone, capering between Arafat and Muz- 
dalifa, and throwing pebbles in Mina, are to be sanctified by prayers 
and praise to Allah. The skeleton of Arab stone-worship and 
magianism was thus clothed in the habiliments of Isl4m. See, on 
this subject, Muir’s Lefe of Mahomet, vol. i., introduction, pp. cecxii. 
and ccxiil. 

(199) Go im procession. Rodwell translates, “ Pass on quickly.” 
Abdul Qadir has it, “Go to the circling,” ¢.¢., of the Kaabah (tawdf). 
It is generally understood by the commentators to refer to the return 
from Muzdalifa to the Kaabah. 

Ask pardon of God. The Mishqat ul Masdbih gives a tradition, on 
the authority of Ibn Omar, as follows: “The apostle of God said, 
When you see a pilgrim, salém to him, and shake him by the hand ; 
and tell him to ask pardon for you, before he enters into his own 
house ; because his faults have been forgiven, and his supplications 
are approved.”—Book xi. chap. i. part 3. 

The duty of asking pardon was commanded the prophet himself 
as well as his followers (see chap. xlvii. 21). Tradition repeatedly 
represents Muhammad as seeking pardon for sin. “ Verily I ask 
pardon of God, and turn from sin towards him, more than seventy 
times daily.” “I ask pardon of God one hundred times a day.” 
Such are the sayings ascribed to Muhammad.—Mishqét ul Masdabih, 
book x. chap. 111. part 1. In another place in this same chapter 
Muhammad is declared to have taught the monstrous doctrine, that 
when a Muslim says, ““O my patron! I have been guilty of a fault, 


SIPARA II.] (-363"") [CHAP. 11. 


and merciful. (200) And when ye have finished your holy 
ceremonies, remember Gop, according as ye remember your 
fathers, or with a more reverent commemoration. There 
are some men who say, O LorD, give us our portion in this 
world; but such shall have no portion in the next life; (201) 
and there are others who say, O LorD, give us good in this 
world and also good in the next world, and deliver us from 
the torment of hell fire. They shall have a portion of that 
which they have gained: GoD is swift in taking an account. 

|| (202) Remember Gop the appointed number of days ; 
but if any haste to depart from the valley of Mina in 
two days, it shall be no crime in him. And if any 
tarry longer, it shall be no crime in him, in him who 
feareth Gop. Therefore fear Gop, and know that unto 
him ye shall be gathered. (205) There is a man who 
causeth thee to marvel by his speech concerning this 


forgive it,” God says to the angels, “ Did my servant know that he 
had a defender who forgives and punishes? I have pardoned him : 
then tell my servant to commit faults as often as he likes, as long as 
he asks pardon!” With such doctrines implicitly received, is it any 
wonder that Muslims are immoral? that ordinary sins should seem 
to them a light thing? Is it any wonder they should fail to see the 
need of an atonement, seeing God may even license sin for the 
delight he has in hearing his servants asking pardon? This is 
perhaps the most damning doctrine of Islam, It says, Peace, peace, 
where there is no peace; it lulls the vilest sinners to the sleep of 
death ; it dishonours the God of holiness, and saps the foundations 
of morality and true piety. 

(200) Remember God according as ye remember your fathers. Abdul 
Qadir tells us that the Arabs, after completing the rites of pilgrimage, 
spent three days in Makkah in rejoicing, during which they recounted 
the deeds performed by their fathers. The Muslims are here com- 
manded to spend these three days, called Aydm-ut-Tashriq, in remem- 
bering God instead of remembering their fathers. 

There are some men, 2.€., unbelievers.— Tafsir-i-Raufi. 

(201) There are others ; 1.e., hypocrites.— T'afsir-i-Raufi. 

They shall have a portion. They will be rewarded according to 
their works. 

Swift in taking account. ‘For he will judge all creatures, says 
Jal4luddin, in the space of half a day.”—Sale. 

(202) Appointed number of days. Three days (see note on ver. 200). 

(208) There is a man, dc. “This person was al Akhnas Ibn 
Shuraiq, a fair-spoken dissembler, who swore that he believed in 
Muhammad, and pretended to be one of his friends, and to contemn 


NIsF. 


CHAP. II. | (2 264" 9) [SIPARA II. 


present life, and calleth Gop to witness that which is in 
his heart, yet he is most intent in opposing thee; (204) 
and when he turneth away from thee, he hasteth to act 
corruptly in the earth, and to destroy that which is sown, 
and springeth up: but Gop loveth not corrupt doing. 
(205) And if one say unto him, Fear Gop; pride seizeth 
him, together with wickedness; but hell shall be his 
reward, and an unhappy couch shall it be. (206) There 
is also a man who selleth his soul for the sake of those 
things which are pleasing unto GoD; and GoD is gracious 
unto Ais servants. (207) O true believers, enter into the 
true religion wholly, and follow not the steps of Satan, 
for he is your open enemy. (208) If ye have slipped 
after the declarations of our will have come unto you, 
know that Gop is mighty and wise. (209) Do the infidels 
expect less than that Gop should come down to them over- 


this world. But God here reveals to the prophet his hypocrisy and 
wickedness.”—Sale, Jalaluddin. 

(204) To destroy, de. ‘‘Setting fire to his neighbour’s corn, and 
killing his asses by night.”—Sale, Jalaluddin. 

The Ta/fsir-c-Raufi regards these verses as descriptive of all 
hypocrites. 

(206) A man who selleth, &e. ‘The person here meant was one 
Suhaib, who being persecuted by the idolaters of Makkah, forsook 
all he had, and fled to Medina.”—Sale, Jaldéluddin. 

A great variety of stories have been invented by the commentators 
to illustrate passages like this. See Tafsir-t-Raufi in loco. 

(207) Enter into the true religion wholly. This exhortation is 
thought to refer to such Jewish and Arab converts at Madina as 
had not yet adopted all the rites and customs of the new religion. 
Jewish converts had scruples about using the flesh and milk of 
camels for food, being contrary to the teaching of the Mosaic law. 
The Arabs were not all hearty in accepting the innovations made 
upon the eustoms of their fathers in order to make a difference 
between them and the unbelievers, especially in the rites and cere- 
monies of the pilgrimage described above. The temptation of such 
to apostatise from Islam is here ascribed to Satan. 

(208) If ye have slipped. Rodwell’s translation is preferable : “ If 
ye lapse.” 

God is mighty and wise. Mighty to punish apostasy, and wise to 
discern it. 

(209) Overshadowed with clouds. The allusion here is to the storm 
which destroyed the infidels in the days of the prophet Shuaib. See 
chap. Vil. 92. 


SIPARA II.] ( 365 ) [CHAP AIT. 


shadowed with clouds, and the angels also? but the thing 
is decreed, and to Gop shall al/ things return. 

| (210) Ask the children of Israel how many evident 
signs we have showed them; and whoever shall change the 
grace of Gop after it shall have come unto him, verily Gop 
will be severe in punishing him. (211) The present life 
was ordained for those who believe not, and they laugh the 
faithful to scorn; but they who fear Gop shall be above 
them, on the day of the resurrection: for Gop is bountiful 
unto whom he pleaseth without measure. (212) Mankind 
was of one faith, and Gop sent prophets bearing good 


Angels. Referred to as the ministers of Judgment and the keepers 
of hell. See chap. lxxiv. 29. 

(210) Hvident signs; 2.¢., the miracles wrought among them by 
former prophets, especially by Moses.— Z'afsir-1- Rauf. 

Whoever shall change the grace of God. By the grace (translated 
boon) of God, Rodwell understands the Quran to be intended. The 
Tafstr-r-Raufi seems to refer the expression to the Pentateuch or 
Jewish Scriptures. The meaning would then be that those Jews, 
who objected to Muslim practice on the ground that it contradicted 
their Scriptures were guilty of changing or perverting the Word of 
God. This I believe to be the true interpretation of this passage, 
inasmuch as there is no reason to believe the Jews ever attempted 
to change the Qurdn in any way. Certainly they did not at this 
stage in the history of Islam. Such being the case, Muhammad lays 
himself open to the charge of having committed the crime he here 
threatens with the “severe punishment” of God. The fear of incur- 
ring this punishment is one of the reasons why Muslims have been 
so scrupulously careful to preserve the text of the Quran. 

(211) The present life, de. Savary translates thus: “ The life of 
this world is strewed with flowers for the unbelievers. They make 
a scoff of the faithful. Those who have the fear of the Lord shall be 
raised above them at the day of resurrection. God dispenseth as he 
pleaseth his innumerable gifts.” 

The Va/str-r-Raufi tells us that the very reason why infidels are 
prospered is that they may be filled with contemptuous pride and 
run madly on the way to destruction. But although they scoff at 
the poor slave-followers of Muhammad, such as Bilal and Amar, yet 
these shall be exalted far above them at the resurrection day. 

This kind of consolation satisfied the poor companions during the 
trials of the early days of their exile in Madina, but the successes of 
Muslim arms soon secured a glory sufficiently comforting to the Arab 
mind for the present life at least. Their prosperity has brought 
with it a pride not unlike that ascribed to the unbelievers by the 
commentators. 

(212) Mankind was of one faith. Muhammad here teaches the 
truth, that originally there was but one religion in the world, But 


CHAP. II. ] RR wi ay [SIPARA II. 


tidings, and denouncing threats, and sent down with them 
the scripture in truth, that it might judge between men of 
that concerning which they disagreed: and none disagreed 
concerning it, except those to whom the same scriptures 
were delivered, after the declarations of Gov’s will had 
come unto them, out of envy among themselves. And 
Gop directed those who believed, to that truth concerning 
which they disagreed, by his will: for Gop directeth whom 
he pleaseth into the right way. (213) Did ye think ye 
should enter paradise, when as yet no such thing had 
happened unto you, as hath happened unto those. who 
have been before you? They suffered calamity, and tribu- 
lation, and were afflicted; so that the apostle, and they 
who believed with him, said: When will the help of Gop 


this religion from time to time became corrupt. Hence prophets 
were sent to correct abuses and restore the religion of God to the 
children of men, They brought with them Scriptures, breathing 
“oood tidings and denouncing threats,” and “judging between men 
concerning which they disagreed.” ‘This religion, according to the 
Quran, is Islam. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments 
are then “the Scripture in truth.” If, therefore, Muhammad be a 
prophet of God, his doctrine must agree in all essential particulars 
with the teachings of Moses and Jesus, Dothey? If not, Muham- 
mad is a false prophet, on his own showing. 

None disagreed . . . except those, dc. The reference is to the Jews 
who refused to accept the Quran as the Word of God. The state- 
ment, however, is not literally true, for multitudes of heathen in 
India, China, and Africa still “disagree.” The passage, however, 
shows that at this stage Muhammad had only the Jews and Arabs 
in mind. The idea of a universal Islam, though logically involved 
in his doctrine, does not seem to have been yet fully developed in 
his mind. 

God durecteth whom he pleaseth. The doctrine of election is here 
expressly taught. 
_ (213) Did ye think ye should enter paradise? &e. This verse was 
addressed to the Makkan fugitives who suffered grievously from 
hunger and poverty during the first years of their exile. They are 
pointed to the sufferings of God’s people in former ages. So Tafsir- 
1-Raufi, The allusion may, however, be to the sufferings endured by 
himself and the first believers in Makkah, when persecuted by the 
Quraish. There is apparently evidence of great courage in adversity 
and firm trust in God in the words, “Is not the help of God nigh ?” 
The expression may, however, simply point to the prospect of suc- 
cess due to the now growing political power of the Muslims at 
Madina. 


SIPARA II. ] CisO7 oy [CHAP. II. 


come? Is not the help of Gop nigh? (214) They will 
ask thee what they shall bestow in alms: Answer, The 
good which ye bestow, let it be given to parents, and kin- 
dred, and orphans, and the poor and the stranger. What- 
soever good ye do, Gop knoweth it. (215) War is 
enjoined you against the infidels; but this is hateful 
unto you: yet perchance ye hate a thing which is better 
for you, and perchance ye love a thing which is worse for 
you: but Gop knoweth and ye know not. 


| (216) They will ask thee concerning the sacred month, 


whether they may war therein: Answer, To war therein is 
grievous; but to obstruct the way of Gop, and infidelity 
towards him, and to keep men from the holy temple, and 
to drive out his people from thence, is more grievous in 





(214) What they shall bestow in alms. That “charity begins at 
home” was a truth of Isla4m as well as of Christianity is evident from 
the injunction in this verse. The contributions of the Muslims were 
as yet too meagre to supply the wants of any outside their own com- 
munity, yet we see the “stranger” is still to share the benefit of Arab 
hospitality and generosity, On the subject of legal alms, see notes 
on vers. 42 and 109. ‘This verse was afterwards abrogated. See 
chap. ix. 60. 

(215) War ws enjoined you. See note on ver. 191. 

T'his is hateful unto you: yet, de. The hatefulness referred to here 
was probably due to the reluctance of some of the Muslims to fight 
against their own relatives and fellow-townsmen. By the infidels we 
must understand the Makkans specially to be designated. Muham- 
mad had now determined to resort to the sword to accomplish what 
his preaching had failed todo. The divine sanction to his belligerent 
purpose was now promulgated. But the doctrine was unpalatable to 
some, and Muhammad had no little difficulty in securing obedience 
to it. Even the rule limiting the distribution of booty to those who 
assisted in the fight for it was scarcely sufficient to arouse their 
martial spirit. See chap. xlvili. 15, 16. 

(216) To war therein 1s grievous. See notes on vers. 190-194. 

The commentators agree in assigning the occasion of this revelation 
to the attack of Abdullah Ibn Jahash and his party of Muslims upon 
a Quraish caravan at Nakhla, between Makkah and Tayif, during the 
sacred month of Rajab. The attack was made by the express order 
of Muhammad, though afterwards he denied having ordered them to 
attack during the sacred month. The unbelievers taunted him and 
his Muslims, charging them with perfidy and cowardice in attacking 
men secured from assault by the customs of the times, Even the 
Muslims felt the disgrace thus brought upon them. They reproached 
Abdullah and his followers for what they had done, But the prophet 


= 


| 


fe | 


CHAP, II. ] (2363.8) [SIPARA II. 


the sight of Gop, and the temptation ¢o idolatry is more 
orievous than to kill in the sacred months. They will not 
cease to war against you, until they turn you from your 
religion, if they be able: but whoever among you shall turn 
back from his religion, and die an infidel, their works shall 
be vain in this world, and the next; they shall be the 
companions of hell-fire, they shall remain therein forever. 
(217) But they who believe, and who fly for the sake 
of religion, and fight in Gop’s cause, they shall hope 
for the mercy of Gop; for GoD is gracious and mer- 
ciful. (218) They will ask thee concerning wine and 
lots : Answer, In both there is great sin, and also some things 
of use unto men; but their sinfulness is greater than their 


was equal to the occasion. He affected displeasure. The booty was 
put aside without division until this revelation was made, declaring 
war at such a time to be “grievous,” but assuring the Muslims 
that the conduct of the Makkans and the temptation to idolatry was . 
more grievous than killing in the sacred months. After the recep- 
tion of this revelation the booty was divided among the marauders, 
Muhammad receiving the fifth part thereof, thus condoning, if not 
actually sanctioning, the conduct of the transgressors. Can it be 
believed that Muhammad was not guilty of imposture in producing 
such a revelation under such circumstances? For a fuller account 
of this affair, see Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. ui. pp. 70-74. 

(217) They who... fight in God’s cause. Literally, They who 
strive earnestly in the way of God. “The word (/ihdd) is the same as 
that subsequently used for a religious war; but it had not yet 
probably acquired its fixed application, It was employed in its 
general sense before the Hegira, and probably up to the battle of 
Badr.”—Muir’s Life of Mahomet, vol. ii1. p. 74, note. 

This verse is said to have been revealed for the special purpose of 
comforting Abdullah and his companions. 

(218) Concerning wine. “Under the name of wine all sorts of 
strong and inebriating liquors are comprehended.”—Prelim. Disc., 

wv LOL. ! 
Ane lots. “The original word, al Mazsar, properly signifies a par- 
ticular game performed with arrows, and much in use with the pagan 
Arabs. But by lots we are here to understand all games whatsoever, 
which are subject to chance or hazard, as dice, cards, &c.”—Sale. 

Though lots are forbidden to Muslims on the ground that they are 
‘a creat sin” and “an abomination of the work of Satan” (chap. 
v. 92), yet the angels are said to have cast lots to determine which of 
them ‘should have the education of Mary ” (chap. iii. 44). 

Some things of use unto men. “From these words some suppose 
that only drinking to excess and too frequent gaming are prohibited, 


SIPARA II.] € 369 ) [CHAPFIE 


use. They will ask thee also what they shall bestow ww 
alms: (219) Answer, What ye have to spare. Thus Gop 
showeth is signs unto you, that peradventure ye might 
seriously think of this present world, and of the next. 
(220) They will also ask thee concerning orphans: Answer, 
To deal righteously with them is best; and if ye inter- 
meddle with the management of what belongs to them, do 
them no wrong; they are your brethren: Gop knoweth 
the corrupt dealer from the righteous; and if Gop please, 


And the moderate use of wine they also think is allowed by these 
words of the 16th chapter (ver. 69), And of the fruits of palm-trees 
and grapes ye obtain inebriating drink, and also good nourishment. But 
the more received opinion is, that both drinking wine or other strong 
liquors in any quantity, and playing at any game of chance, are 
absolutely forbidden.”—Sale, on the authority of Jalaluddin and Zam- 
akhshart. 

Comparing this passage with chap. iv. 42, chap. v. 92, and chap. 
Xvi, 69, the conclusion seems fairly drawn that wine and lots were 
forbidden on the ground that their abuse was fraught with great evil, 
as stated in the text, though their occasional use to men is admitted. 
Muslims came to prayer in a state of drunkenness, and quarrels and 
blood-feuds grew out of the use of lots, They were therefore totally 
forbidden, 

(219) What ye have to spare. See note on ver. 214. There the 
question relates to beneficiaries, here to the amount to be bestowed. 
But see also notes on ver. 42. 

(220) Concerning orphans. The following, from R. Bosworth 
Smith’s Mohammed and Mohammedanism, p. 251, second edition, is 
eloquently misleading :—“ The orphan was not less than the slave 
the object of the prophet’s peculiar care, for he had been an orphan 
himself; and what God had done for him, he was anxious, as far as 
might be, to do for others. The poor were always present with him, 
and their condition never absent from his mind.” He should 
not have forgotten to say that this solicitude, so far as it went, did 
not go beyond the Muslim circle; that, having made thousands of 
orphans by his wars against the infidels, he was in duty bound to 
care for them; and that orphans being Muslims (for the children of 
infidels and Jews or Christians, slain for their unbelief, were made 
Muslims by compulsion) were to be cared for, not only because they 
were orphans, but because they were brethren. Whilst giving the 
Arabian prophet due credit for that kindliness of feeling which he 
sometimes exhibited towards the poor and helpless, and which finds 
expression in the Quran, we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that 
he was an utter stranger to that universal charity which is the chief 
glory of Christianity. 

If ye intermeddle ; 2.¢., if you make use of their money or property 
in carrying on your own business affairs, “do them no wrong.” 


2A 





bo 


CHAP. II.] (Sr tam) [SIPARA II. 


he will surely distress you, for GoD is mighty and wise. 
(221) Marry not women who are idolaters, until they be- 
lieve: verily a maidservant who believeth is better than 
an idolatress, although she please you more. And give 
not women who believe in marriage to the idolaters, until 
they believe: for verily a servant who is a true believer 
is better than an idolater, though he please you more. 
They invite unto hell-fire, but Gop inviteth unto paradise 
and pardon through his will, and declareth his signs unto 
men, that they may remember. 

|| (222) They will ask thee also concerning the courses 
of women: Answer, They are a pollution: therefore sepa- 
rate yourselves from women in their courses, and go not 
near them, until they be cleansed. But when they are 
cleansed, go in unto them as Gop hath commanded you, 
for Gop loveth those who repent, and loveth those who 
are clean. (225) Your wives are your tillage; go in there- 
fore unto your tillage in what manner soever ye will: 
and do first some act that may be profitable unto your 
souls; and fear Gop, and know that ye must meet him; 


and bear good tidings unto the faithful. (224) Make not 


Will surely distress you, viz., “ By his curse, which will certainly 
bring to nothing what ye shall wrong the orphans of.”—Sale. 

(221) Marry not... rdolaters. ‘Phis law was probably copied 
from the requirements of both Judaism and Christianity (cf Deut. 
vil. 3, 4, and 2 Cor. vi. 14-16). Abdul Qadir says this prohibition 
does not apply to Jews and Christians, and that Muslims are per- 
mitted to intermarry with them. 

(222, 223) These verses, with the disgusting comments of Muslim 
expositors, too indecent to find a place in this work, reveal the sen- 
sual character of the Arabian prophet and his followers, They 
account for the degradation of Muslim women. And yet this licen- 
tious mandate is clothed in the garb of piety, and its performance 
is to be accompanied by acts of devotion and charity. See Sale in 
loco. 

(224, 225) Make not God the object of your oaths ; 1.¢., “So as to swear 
frequently by him. The word translated object properly signifies a 
butt to shoot at with arrows.”—Sale. 

Yet the example of the prophet himself, as testified by scores of 
traditions, and the teaching of the Quran (see chaps. Ii, lxxix., 
Ixxxvi., Xci., xcil, xciv., &c.), justify the most promiscuous and 


SIPARA II.] Se eyak, 5 [CHAP., II. 


Gop the object of your oaths, that ye will deal justly, and 
be devout, and make peace among men; for Gop is he 
who heareth and knoweth. (225) Gop will not punish 
you for an inconsiderate word in your oaths; but he will 
punish you for that which your hearts have assented unto: 
Gop is merciful and gracious. (226) They who vow to 
abstain from their wives are allowed to wait four months: 
but if they go back from their vow, verily GoD is gracious 
and merciful; (227) and if they resolve on a divorce, GoD 








varied use of oaths by all things in heaven and earth, Allah not 
excepted. Compare our Lord’s teaching on this subject (Matt. v. 
34-37, Xxill. 16-22), and it will be seen how far the Quran comes 
short of “confirming the former Scriptures” on this point. 

That ye will deal justly, dc. “Some commentators (Jalaluddin, 
Yahya, &c.) expound this negatively, That ye will not deal justly, nor 
be devout, de. For such wicked oaths, they say, were customary 
among the idolatrous inhabitants of Makkah, which gave occasion to 
the following saying of Muhammad: When you swear to do a thing, 
and afterwards find it better to do otherwise, do that which vs better, 
and make void your oath.”—Sale. 

The positive rendering is clearly the right one. The exhortation 
then seems to be, that by abstaining from the use of God’s name in 
ordinary oaths, men would feel at liberty to break their rash vows 
when their fulfilment would involve the performance of a wicked 
act. This view is borne out by the teaching of the next verse. 

(226) Those who vow to abstain, dc. Rodwell translates thus : 
“Those who intend to abstain,” &c. The V'afstr-1-Raujfi and Abdul 
Qadir understand an oath, and not an intention, to be meant, and 
translate accordingly. The passage therefore supphes an instance 
in which an oath may be violated, but the oath must not be in the 
name of God (ver. 224). Indeed it seems to us that this is the special 
case provided for by the general principle enunciated in ver. 225. 

Four months, “That is, they may take so much time to consider ; 
and shall not, by a rash oath, be obliged actually to divorce them.”— 
Sale. 

Others are of opinion that such an oath does not have the force of 
an actual divorce for the period of four months, If, however, it be 
maintained for that period, a divorce is thereby declared, and the 
parties would have to be married again to render their living together 
lawful. See Zafsir-1-Raufi in loco. 

(227) If they resolve on a divorce; v.¢., within, or at the termination 
of, the four months. 

God is he who heareth and knoweth. These words, so often repeated 
in the Quran, express alike the pleasure and displeasure of God. 
The context decides which is intended. Compare vers. 127, 137, 
244, and 256. They generally have reference to matters of favrth. 
Exhortations in regard to the practice of religion usually end with the 


CHAP2 11) (2720 [SIPARA II. 


1s he who heareth and knoweth. (228) The women who 
ave divorced shall wait concerning themselves until they 
have their courses thrice, and it shall not be lawful for 
them to conceal that which Gop hath created in their 
wombs, if they believe in GoD and the last day; and their 
husbands will act more justly to bring them back at this 
time, if they desire a reconciliation. The women ought 
also to behave towards their husbands in like manner as 
their husbands should behave towards them, according to 
what is just: but the men ought to have a superiority 
over them, GoD is mighty and wise. 

| (229) Ye may divorce your wives twice; and then 





expression, ‘God knoweth that which ye do,” or “God seeth that 
which ye do.” Here, while divorce is permitted and legislated for, 
the will of God seems to be against it. 

(228) The divorced shall wait, de. “This is to be understood of 
those only with whom the marriage has been consummated ; for as 
to the others there is no time limited. Those who are not quite past 
child-bearing (which a woman is reckoned to be after her courses 
cease, and she is about fifty-five lunar years, or about fifty-three solar 
years old), and those who are too young to have-children, are allowed 
three months only ; but they who are with child must wait till they 
be delivered.”—Sale, Jalaluddin. 

For the various kinds of divorce recognised by Muslim law, see 
Prelim, Disc., pp. 207, 208, and Hughes’ Notes on Muhammadanism, 

1182, 

That which God hath created, dc. ‘That is, they shall tell the 
real truth, whether they have their courses, or be with child, or not; 
and shall not, by deceiving their husband, obtain a separation from 
him before the term be accomplished, lest the first husband’s child 
should, by that means, go to the second, or the wife, in case of the 
first husband’s death, should set up her child as his heir, or demand 
her maintenance during the time she went with such child, and the 
expenses of her lying-in, under pretence that she waited not her full 
prescribed time.”—Sale, Yahya. 

The women ought also to behave towards their husbands, dc. Hus- 
bands were exhorted to “bring back” their wives during the pre- 
scribed period of waiting, provided the wives desired a reconciliation. 
The only meaning of the exhortation to the women is that they 
should be willing to go back to their husbands, provided the husbands 
desired to be reconciled. Lest such a statement should predicate 
equality between the sexes, the clause is added, “but the men ought 
to have a superiority over them.” 

(229) Ye may divorce your wives twice. Compare the Mosaic law, 


SIPARA II. | (e373 ie) (CHAP, H. 


~ 


either retain them with humanity, or dismiss them with 
kindness. But it is not lawful for you to take away any- 
thing of what ye have given them, unless both fear that 
they cannot observe the ordinance of Gop. And if ye 
fear that they cannot observe the ordinance of Gob, it 
shall be no crime in either of them on account of that 
for which the wife shall redeem herself. These are the 
ordinances of Gop; therefore transeress them not; for 
whoever transgresseth the ordinances of Gop, they are 
unjust doers. (230) Butif the husband divorce her a third 
tume, she shall not be lawful for him again, until she 








Deut. xxiv. 1-4. Here we find the Quran, which professes to attest 
the former Scriptures, giving sanction to that which is declared by 
Moses to be “abomination before the Lord.” The doctrine of abro- 
cation cannot be made to apply in such a case, unless it be admitted 
that what is “abomination before the Lord” in one age may be 
acceptable to him in another. 

What ye have gwen them; 12.¢., the dowry, which must not be less 
than ten dirhams (Hughes’ Notes on Muhammadanism, p. 177). The 
difficulty of divorce among Muslims is greatly increased by their 
insisting on large dowries being settled upon their daughters when 
given in marriage. Unless this dowry be voluntarily remitted by the 
wife, it must be paid by the husband divorcing her against her will. 

Unless both fear, dc. In this case the wife consents to the divorce- 
ment, thereby forfeiting her dowry. 

It shall be no crime, ke., 2.¢., “If she prevail on her husband to 
dismiss her, by releasing part of her dowry.”—Sale. 

This release is usually obtained by the most outrageous abuse of 
the wife, often making her willing to forfeit the whole of her dower 
rather than live with her brutal husband. This law of the Quran is 
responsible for such treatment of women. It makes her the helpless 
victim of her husband’s cupidity and tyranny. 

(230) But of her husband divorce her a third time, de. See Prelim. 
Dise., p. 207. The Mishqat ul Musabih relates a number of tradi- 
tions on this subject, too indecent for reproduction here, showing 
how this law is to be fulfilled, and how pious Muslims have vainly 
sought to evade the rigour of its requirement. See Bombay edition 
in Urdu, vol. iii. pp. 176-178. 

Muir, in his Life of Mahomet, vol, ill. p. 306, new edition, p. 349, 
referring to this law, says: “In the rules regarding divorce there is 
one which (much as I might desire) cannot be passed over in silence. 
A husband may twice divorce his wife, and each time receive her 
back again. But when the words of separation have been thrice 
repeated, the divorce is irreversible. However unjust or injurious 
the action, how much soever the result of passion or of caprice, how- 
ever it may affect the interests not only of an innocent wife but also 





CHAP. II.] ‘ ( 3374 2) [SIPARA IT, 


marry another husband. But if he also divorce her, it 
shall be no crime in them if they return to each other, if 
they think they can observe the ordinances of Gop, and 
these are the ordinances of Gop; he declareth them to 
people of understanding. (231) But when ye divorce 
women, and they have fulfilled their prescribed time, 
either retain them with humanity or dismiss them with 
kindness; and retain them not by violence, so that ye 
transeress ; for he who doth this surely injureth his own 
soul. And make not the signs of Gop a jest: but remem- 
ber Gop’s favour towards you, and that he hath sent down 
unto you the book of the Quran, and wisdom admonish- 
ing you thereby; and fear Gop, and know that Gop is 
omniscient. 

| (232) But when ye have divorced your wives, and 
they have fulfilled their prescribed time, hinder them not 


of her innocent children, however desirous the husband may be of 

undoing the wrong, the decision cannot be recalled; the divorced 
wife can return to her husband but on one condition, and that is that 
she shall first be married to another, and after cohabitation be again 
divorced. The tone of Mahometan manners may be imagined from 
the functions of the temporary husband (Mostahil), hired to legalise 
remarriage with a thrice-divorced wife, having passed into a pro- 
verb.! Such flagrant breach of decency, such cruel violation of the 
modesty of an unoffending wife, may be an abuse the full extent of 
which was not at the time contemplated by Mahomet, but it is not 
the less an abuse for which, as a direct result of the unnatural and 
revolting provision framed by him, Mahomet is justly responsible.” 

But tf he also divorce her. The Quran everywhere presumes that 
divorce is the sole prerogative of the husband. The idea of a wife 
claiming the right was foreign to Muhammad’s mind. He regarded 
women as a lower order of beings, intervening between the slave and 
their lords. The elevation of woman to her true position is impos- 
sible under Isl4m. 

It shall be no crime, dc. This is a direct contradiction of the teach- 
ing of the Bible. See note on ver. 229. 

(231) Retain them not by violence, re., by obliging them to pur- 
chase their liberty with part of their dowry.—Sale. 

(232) Hinder them not from marrying thew husbands; 1.¢., their 
former husbands, from whom they have been divorced. If the 
parties are willing to remarry, their relatives are not to interfere.— 
Tafsir-c-Rauft. : 


1 “ A thousand lovers rather than one Mostahil.”—Burckhardt’s Arabic 
Proverbs, p. 21. 








SIPARA II.] (Eanes) [CHAP. II. 


from marrying their husbands, when they have agreed 
among themselves according to what is honourable. This 
1S given in admonition unto him among you who believeth 
in Gop, and the last day. This is most righteous for 
you, and most pure. Gop knoweth, but ye know not. 
(233) Mothers after they are divorced shall give suck unto 
their children two full years, to him who desireth the 
time of giving suck to be completed ; and the father shall 
be obliged to maintain them and clothe them in the mean- 
time, according to that which shall be reasonable. No per- 
son shall be obliged beyond his ability. A mother shall not 
be compelled to what 1s unreasonable on account of her child, 
nor a father on account of his child. And the heir of the 
jather shall be obliged to do in like manner. But if they 
choose to wean the child before the end of two years, by 
common consent and on mutual consideration, it shall be 
no crime in them. And if ye have a mind to provide a 
nurse for your children, it shall be no crime in you, in 
case ye fully pay what ye offer her, according to that 
which is just. And fear Gop, and know that GoD seeth 
whatsoever ye do. (234) Such of you as die, and leave 
wives, their wives must wait concerning themselves four 
months and ten days, and when they shall have fulfilled 
their term, it shall be no crime in you, for that which 
they shall do with themselves, according to what is reason- 
able. Gop well knoweth that which ye do. (235) And 
it shall be no crime in you, whether ye make public over- 
tures of marriage unto such women, within the said four 
months and ten days, or whether ye conceal such your 
designs in your minds: GoD knoweth that ye will re- 








(233) And the heir, de. ; 2.¢., in case the father die before the child 
is weaned, 

(234) Four months and ten days. “That is to say, before they 
marry again; and this not only for decency sake, but that it may 
be known whether they be with child by the deceased or not.”— 
Sale, 

It shall be no crime; we., “if they look out for new husbands.”— 
Sale. 


31 
15° 


CHAP. II. | CeO) [SIPARA II- 


member them. But make no promises unto them privately, 
unless ye speak honourable words; and resolve not on the 
knot of marriage until the prescribed time be accomplished; 
and know that GoD knoweth that which is in your minds, 
therefore beware of him and know that GoD is gracious 
and merciful. 

|| (286) It shall be no crime in you if ye divorce your 
wives, so long as ye have not touched them, nor settled 
any dowry on them. And provide for them (he who is at 
his ease must provide according to his circumstances, and 
he who is straitened according to his circumstances) neces- 
saries, according to what shall be reasonable. This is a 
duty ¢ncumbent on the righteous. (237) But if ye divorce 
them before ye have touched them, and have already 
settled a dowry on them, ye shall give them half of what 
ye have settled, unless they release any part, or he release 
part in whose hand the knot of marriage is; and if ye 
release the whole, it will approach nearer unto piety. And 
forget not liberality among you, for Gop seeth that which 
ye do. (238) Carefully observe the appointed prayers, 


(237) Unless they release any part, ke. ; 2.¢., “unless the wife agree to 
take less than half her dowry, or unless the husband be so generous 
as to give her more than half, or the whole, which is here approved 
of as most commendable.”—Sale. 

(238) Carefully observe the appointed prayers. The command has 
reference to the five daily prayers. See Prelim. Disc., p. 165. Four 
of these are distinctly mentioned in chap, xxx. 16, 17, and all Muslim 
commentators understand the fifth to be included in the “evening” 
prayer of ver. 16. Mr. Bosworth Smith is therefore mistaken in 
saying that “the five daily prayers, lke the rite of circumcision, are 
not enjoined in the Koran itself.”—Mohammed and Mohammedanism, 
note on p. 196. 

Apologists for Muhammadanism are fond of dilating at great 
length upon the fervour of Muslims in prayer, and “ missionaries 
and the like” are severely condemned for bringing against Muslim 
prayers the charge of being “merely lifeless forms and vain repeti- 
tions.”1 If fervour in prayer consists in punctilious performance of 
a prescribed round of bowing and prostration, or the repetition of a 
formal service of prayer in a foreign tongue, then the fervour and 


1 Introduction to Lane’s Selections from the Koran by Stanley Lane Poole, 
p. lxxxill, 


SIPARA II. | Get sa 7 us) POA Pits 


and the middle prayer, and be assiduous therein, with 
devotion towards Gop. (239) But if ye fear any danger, 
pray on foot or on horseback; and when ye are safe 
remember Gop, how he hath taught you what as yet ye 
knew not. (240) And such of you as shall die and leave 
wives, ought to bequeath their wives a year’s mainten- 
ance, without putting them out of their houses: but if 
they go out voluntarily, it shall be no crime in you, for 
that which they shall do with themselves, according to 
what shall be reasonable; Gop is mighty and wise. (241) 
And unto those who are divorced, a reasonable provision 


reality of Muslim prayer must be acknowledged. But, whatever may 
be thought of the probable character of Muslim prayer in the earlier 
days of Islam, we think no man acquainted with the worship of 
modern Muslims can accredit them generally with having any true 
conception of the spiritual character of prayer, much less of striving 
after real heart communion with God. Granting that Muhammad 
had a correct idea of prayer, no system could have been invented to 
destroy all vestige of real prayer which would have succeeded better 
than this stereotyped service of Islam. So far as the great mass of 
Muslims are concerned, the merit of prayer consists in tts performance 
according to the external rite, and not in putting forth heart desires 
after God. 

The middle prayer; 1.€., ’Asar. 

With devotion. The devotion consists in the punctilious perform- 
ance of the prescribed round of bowing and prostration, previous 
ablution, and perfect silence during prayer. Here again the English 
reader is misled by the language of an English translation. See any 
Mushm commentary on the passage. 

(240) Abdul Qadir says this law was abrogated by the law of 
inheritance, in which each heir’s portion is definitely fixed (see chap. 
iv. 11, which refers to the wife’s share); and the Tafsir-r-Rauft 
declares it abrogated by ver..234. Rodwell says this passage ‘is 
certainly older than the commencement of Sura iv.” ‘The view of 
Abdul Qadir is therefore probably correct. So far as we are aware, 
the Muslim law of inheritance is based upon chap. iv. 11, in so far as 
it relates to the share of the wife or wives in the property of a deceased 
husband. It is fortunate for the millions of Mushm widows that 
the spirit of the prophet became more liberal in this respect as the 
years rolled by. It is difficult to estimate the amount of misery that 
would have resulted had the law of this verse remained in force. 

(241) Unto those who are divorced. The husband, in making his 
bequest, is required to provide for the support of his divorced wives 
during the period of waiting (ver. 228), provided such period be not 
accomplished at the time of making bequest, The Ta/sir-i-Rauft 
regards this law as still in force. 


CHAP. II. | Ors [SIPARA II. 


is also due; this is a duty incumbent on those who fear 
Gop. (242) Thus Gop declareth his signs unto you, that 
ye may understand. 

|| (243) Hast thou not considered those who left their 
habitations (and they were thousands), for fear of death ? 
And Gop said unto them, Die; then he restored them to 
life, for Gop is gracious towards mankind; but the greater © 
part of men do not give thanks. (244) Fight for the 
religion of GoD, and know that Gop is he who heareth 
and knoweth. (245) Who is he that will lend unto Gop 








(243) Those who left their habitations. “ 'These were some of the 
children of Israel, who abandoned their dwellings because of a 
pestilence, or, as others say, to avoid serving in a religious war; but, 
as they fled, God struck them all dead in a certain valley. About 
eight days or more after, when their bodies were corrupted, the 
prophet Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, happening to pass that way, at the 
sight of their bones wept ; whereupon God said to him, Call to them, 
O Ezekiel, and I will restore them to lvfe. And accordingly on the 
prophet’s call they all arose, and lived several years after ; but they 
retained the colour and stench of dead corpses as long as they lived, 
and the clothes they wore changed as black as pitch, which qualities 
they transmitted to their posterity. As to the number of these 
Israelites the commentators are not agreed ; they who reckon least 
say they were 3000, and they who reckon most, 70,000. This story 
seems to have been taken from Ezekiel’s vision of the resurrection of 
dry bones. ; 

“ Some of the Mohammedan writers will have Ezekiel to have been 
one of the judges of Israel, and to have succeeded Othoniel the son 
of Caleb. They also call this prophet Zbn al aj&z, or the son of the 
old woman, because they say his mother obtained him by her prayers 
in her old age.”—Sale, Jalaluddin, Yahya, &c. - 

This is another instance of the failure of the Quran to confirm the 
teaching of the “former Scriptures.” The purpose of Muhammad in 
relating this story appears in the exhortation of the next verse. 
Muslims must not fear death, lest they be punished with death and 
disgrace. 

(244) Fight for the religion of God. (See notes on vers. 190 and 191.) 
Rodwell regards the exhortation of these verses as having special 
reference to the coming struggle with the people of Madina. We 
think thé purpose of Muhammad had a much wider range. He 
certainly had special reference to the conflict with the Makkans in 
the exhortations of vers. 191-193. All his teaching concerning the 
Qibla and the pilgrimage, all his legislation for the company of the 
faithful, points to the conquest of Arabia, and the establishment of 
Islam throughout its bounds by the sword. 

(245) Who ts he that will lend, &c.; .e., “by contributing towards 
the establishment of his true religion.”—Sale. 


SIPARA II.] (7 379.>) [CHAP. II. 


on good usury? verily he will double it unto him mani- 
fold; for Gop contracteth and extendeth his hand as he 
pleaseth, and to him shall ye return. (246) Hast thou 
not considered the assembly of the children of Israel, 
after the time of Moses; when they said unto their prophet 
Samuel, Set a king over us, that we may fight for the 
religion of Gop. The prophet answered, If ye are enjoined 
to go to war, will ye be near refusing to fight? They 
answered, And what should ail us that we should not 
fight for the religion of GoD, seeing we are dispossessed of 
our habitations and deprived of our children? But when 
they were enjoined to go to war, they turned back, except 
a few of them: and Gop knew the ungodly. (247) And 
their prophet said unto them, Verily Gop hath set Talut, 
king over you: they answered, How shall he reign over 
us, seeing we are more worthy of the kingdom than he, 
neither is he possessed of great riches? Samuel said, 
Verily Gop hath chosen him before you, and hath caused 
him to increase in knowledge and stature, for GoD giveth 
his kingdom unto whom he pleaseth; Gop is bounteous 


(246) That we may fight for the religion of God. The children of 
Israel said, “ We will have a king over us; that we also may be 
like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out 
before us, and fight our battles” (1 Sam. viii. 19, 20). 

The garbled rendering of Israelitish history in this verse and those 
following illustrates at once Muhammad’s ignorance of the Bible 
story, and his unscrupulous adaptation of Jewish tradition to the 
purposes of his prophetic ambition. Granting that he was un- 
acquainted with the Scripture narrative, and that he was dependent 
for his information on Jewish tradition, I cannot see how he can be 
fairly exonerated from the charge of deliberate imposition here. 

Seeing we are dispossessed, dc. The commentators relate a story in 
illustration of this passage to the effect that God, on account of their 
defection from the true faith, permitted Goliath to invade their 
country, and to destroy their habitations, and carry their children 
into captivity. 

(247) And their prophet. The name of this prophet is not given 
in the original. Some commentators think he was Ishmuil (Samuel); 
others, that Joshua is referred to; and others, that his name was 
Shimaun.—Tafsir-i-Rau/fi. 

Talat, Saul. 


CHAP AI: (2330 7) [SIPARA II. 


and wise. (248) And their prophet said unto them, Verily 
the sign of his kingdom shall be, that the ark shall come 
unto you: therein shall be tranquillity from your Lorp, 
and the relics which have been left by the family of 
Moses and the family of Aaron; the angels shall bring it. 
Verily this shall be a sign unto you, if ye believe. 

|| (249) And when Talut departed with his soldiers he 
said, Verily Gop will prove you by the river; for he who 








(248) The sign of his kingdom, &c. Compare this story with the 
Biblical account (1 Sam. chap. xi.) 


The ark. Arabic cyl = Coptic Hebrew nn. “This atk: 


says Jalaluddin, contained the images of the prophets, and was 
sent down from heaven to Adam, and at length came to the Israelites, 
who put great confidence therein, and continually carried it in the 
front of their army, till it was taken by the Amalekites. But on 
this occasion the angels brought it back, in the sight of all the people, 
and placed it at the feet of TAlut, who was thereupon unanimously 
acknowledged for their king. 
“This relation seems to have arisen from some imperfect tradition 
of the taking and sending back the ark by the Philistines.”—Sale. 


Tranquillity. Arabic bree. See Rodwell’s note «i _ loco, 


Also Penrice’s Dictionary and Glossary of the Korén under ~ ¢ 


“Tranquillity. That is, because of the great confidence the Israelites 
placed in it, having won several battles by its miraculous assistance. 
I imagine, however, that the Arabic word Sakinat, which signifies 
tranquillity or security of mind, and is so understood by the com- 
mentators, may not improbably mean the divine presence or glory, 
which used to appear on the ark, and which the Jews expressed by 
the same word, Shechinah.”—WSale. 

The relics. ‘These were the shoes and rod of Moses, the mitre 
of Aaron, a pot of manna, and the broken pieces of the two tables of 
the law.”—Sale, Jalaluddin. 

The angels shalé bring tt. The author of the Notes on the Roman 
Urdé Quran points out that these angels were “two milch kine!” 
Abdul Qédir says the angels drove the kine. 

(249) God will prove you by the river. The story of Saul is here 
confounded with that of Gideon (comp. Judges vii.), and with David’s 
conflict with Goliath! And yet this ridiculous jumble is declared 
below (252) to be rehearsed by God unto Muhammad “ with truth.” 
Is it possible to believe Muhammad sincere and consciously truthful 
while making a statement like this? He must have received his 
information respecting Israelitish history from the Jews or Jewish 
converts to Isl4m, either directly, or, as is more probable, indirectly. 
How could he imagine that he had received it by a divine revelation? 
I confess my entire inability to reconcile such facts with any theory 
of hallucination or self-deception. 


SIPARA III.] | (agate ©) [CHAP, II. 


drinketh thereof shall not be on my side (but he who shall 
not taste thereof he shall be on my side), except he who 
drinketh a draught out of his hand. And they drank 
thereof, except a few of them. And when they had passed 
the river, he and those who believed with him, they. said, 
We have no strength to-day, against Jalut and his forces. 
But they who considered that they should meet Gop at 
the resurrection said, How often hath a small army dis- 
comfited a great one, by the will of Gop! and Gop is with 
those who patiently persevere. (250) And when they 
went forth to battle against Jalut and his forces, they said, 
O LorD, pour on us patience, and confirm our feet, and 
help us against the unbelieving people. (251) Therefore 
they discomfited them, by the will of Gop, and David slew 
Jalut. And Gop gave him the kingdom and wisdom, and 
taught him his will; and if Gop had not prevented men, 
the one by the other, verily the earth had been corrupted ; 
but Gop is beneficent towards hes creatures. (252) These 
are the signs of Gop: we rehearse them unto thee with 
truth, and thou art surely one of those who have been sent 
by Gop. 

| (253) These are the apostles; we have preferred some 
of them before others; some of them hath Gop spoken 
unto, and hath exalted the degree of others of them. And 
we gave unto Jesus the son of Mary manifest signs, and 
strengthened him with the holy spirit. And if Gop had 





(251) And God... taught him his will. “ Or what he pleased to 
teach him. Yahya most rationally understands hereby the divine 
revelations which David received from God; but Jalaluddin, the 
art of making coats of mail (which the Muhammadans believe was 
that prophet’s peculiar trade) and the knowledge of the language of 
birds.”—Sale. 

(252) Thowart surely... sent by God. Look at this statement in 
the light of my note on (249). 

(253) Jesus the son of Mary. “Christ was, with Mohammed, the 
oreatest of prophets. He had the power of working miracles ; he 
spoke in his cradle; he made a bird out of clay. He could give sight 
to the blind, and even raise the dead to life. He is the Word pro- 
ceeding from God; his name is the Messiah. Illustrious in this 
world and in the next, and one of those who have near access to God. 


THIRD 
SIPARA. 


R 5 ? 


CHAP. II.] C982. 5) [SIPARA III. 


so pleased, they who came after those apostles would not 
have contended among themselves, after manifest signs 
had been shown unto them. But they fell to variance ; 
therefore some of them believed, and some of them believed 
not; and if Gop had so pleased, they would not have con- 
tended among themselves; but Gop doth what he will. 

|| (254) O true believers, give alms of that which we 
have bestowed unto you, before the day cometh wherein 
there shall be no merchandising, nor friendship, nor in- 
tercession. The infidels are unjust doers. (255) Gop! 
there is no Gop but he; the living, the self-subsisting : 
neither slumber nor sleep seizeth him; to him belongeth 
whatsoever is in heaven, and on earth. Who is he that 





‘He is strengthened by the Holy Spirit,’ for so Mohammed, in more 
than one passage, calls the Angel Gabriel.”—2&. Bosworth Smith, Mo- 
hammed and Mohammedanism, p. 271, second edition. 

But that which, beyond all question, exalts Jesus above all the pro- 
phets of Islim, Muhammad himself not being excepted, is hes sinless- 
ness. Both the Qurén and the Sunnat attribute a sinful character 
to all the prophets excepting Jesus, who appears everywhere as being 
absolutely immaculate. He IS THE SINLESS PROPHET oF ISLAM. 

With the holy spirit, “It is clear that at a later period at least, if 
not from the first, Mahomet confounded Gabriel with the Holy Ghost. 
The idea may have arisen from some such misapprehension as the 
following :—Mary conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Ghost 
which overshadowed her. But it was Gabriel who visited Mary to 
announce the conception of the Saviour. The Holy Ghost was, there- 
fore, another name for Gabriel. We need hardly wonder at this 
ignorance, when Mahomet seems to have believed that Christians 
held Mary to be the third person in the Trinity.”—Muir’s Life of 
Mahomet, new edition, p. 47, note. See also notes on ver. 86, 

They fell at variance. The allusion is to the various sects into 
which the followers of former “apostles” became divided. This was 
in accordance with the will of God. It would seem that God willed 
that the followers of Muhammad should be no exception in this 
respect, 

(254) Give alms. See notes on vers. 42, 109, and 214. 

(255) God! there is no God, de. “This verse contains a magnifi- 
cent description of the divine majesty and providence; but it must 
not be supposed the translation comes up to the dignity of the ori- 
ginal, This passage is justly admired by the Muhammadans, who 
recite it in their prayers; and some of them wear it about them, 
engraved on an agate or other precious stone.”— Sale. 

This verse is called the ’Ayat ul Kursi, or The Throne verse, and 
is frequently used by Muslims in prayer. The Mishgdét ul Masdbih 





SIPARA III] Ge scent) [CHAP. II. 


can intercede with him, but through his good pleasure ? 
He knoweth that which is past, and that which is to come 
unto them, and they shall not comprehend anything of his 
knowledge, but so far as he pleaseth. His throne is ex- 
tended over heaven and earth, and the preservation of both 
is no burden unto him. He is the high, the mighty. 
(256) Let there be no violence in religion. Now is right 
direction manifestly distinguished from deceit : whoever 
therefore shall deny Taghut, and believe in Gop, he shall 
surely take hold on a strong handle, which shall not be 
broken; Gop is he who heareth and seeth. (257) Gop is 
the patron of those who believe ; he shall lead them out of 
darkness into ight: but as to those who believe not, their 





(Matthews’ edition, vol. i. p. 203) records the following tradition con- 
cerning it :— Ali Ibn Abu Talib said, ‘I heard the prophet say in 
the pulpit, “That person who repeats ’Ayat ul Kursi after every 
prayer, nothing prevents him entering into paradise but life; and 
whoever says ’“Ayat ul Kurst when he goes to his bedchamber, God 
will keep him in safety, his house, and the house of his neighbour.” ’” 

His throne, “This throne, in Arabic called Aurs7, is by the Mu- 
hammadans supposed to be God’s tribunal or seat of justice, being 
placed under that other called al Arsh, which they say is his impe- 
rial throne. The Kuwrsi allegorically signifies the divine providence, 
which sustains and governs the heaven and the earth, and is infi- 
nitely above human comprehension.”—WSale. 

This is, without doubt, one of the grandest verses of the Quran. 
Its place in the text does not seem natural. Itsounds more like one 
of the impassioned effusions of the preacher of Makkah than the utter- 
ance of the Madina politician. 

(256) No violence in religion. “This passage was particularly 
directed to some of Muhammad’s first proselytes, who having sons 
that had been brought up in idolatry or Judaism, would oblige them 
to embrace Muhammadism by force.”—Sale, Jaldladdin. 

There is an apparent contradiction between this verse and verses IgI— 
193 and 244 of this chapter. The comment of Jalaluddin given by Sale 
as quoted here affords a key to reconciliation. It was still politic to 
exercise moderation at Madina, but being at war with the Makkans, 
and anticipating the coming conflict with the unbelievers elsewhere, 
the Muslims were incited to “fight for the religion of God.” This 
warfare was for the present ostensibly in self-defence, but the war- 
riors were being educated for a career of conquest in the not distant 
future. 

Taghat. “This word properly signifies an idol, or whatever is 
worshipped besides God—particularly the two idols of the Makkans, 
al Lat and al Uzza; and also the devil, or any seducer.”—Sale 


a 


(ve) 
22 


CHAP, II. | Cnc iam). [SIPARA III. 


patrons are Taghut; they shall lead them from the light 
into darkness; they shall be the companions of hell-fire, 
they shall remain therein for ever. 

|| (258) Hast thou not considered him who disputed with 
Abraham concerning his LorD, because Gop. had given 
him the kingdom? When Abraham said, My Lorp is he 
who giveth hfe and killeth: he answered, I give life and | 
IT kill. Abraham said, Verily Gop bringeth the sun from 
the east, now do thou bring it from the west. Whereupon 
the infidel was confounded ; for Gop directeth not the un- 
godly people. (259) Or hast thou not considered how he 
behaved who passed by a city which had been destroyed, 
even to her foundations ? He said, How shall Gop quicken 
this city, after she hath been dead 2? And Gop caused him 
to die for an hundred years, and afterwards raised him to 
life, And Gop said, How long hast thou tarried here? He 
answered, A day, or part of a day. Gop said, Nay, thou. 
hast tarried here a hundred years. Now look on thy food 
and thy drink, they are not yet corrupted; and look on 
thine ass: and this have we done that we might make thee 
a sign untomen. And look on the bones of thine ass, how 





(258) Him who disputed with Abraham. ‘'This was Nimrod, who, 
as the commentators say, to prove his power of life and death by 
ocular demonstration, caused two men to be brought before him at 
the same time, one of whom he slew and saved the other alive. As 
to this tyrant’s persecution of Abraham, see chap. xxi. (vers. 52-70), 
and the notes thereon.”—Sale. 

(259) He who passed by a city, de, “The person here meant was 
Uzair or Ezra, who riding on an ass by the ruins of Jerusalem, after 
it had been destroyed by the Chaldeans, doubted in his mind by 
what means God could raise the city and its inhabitants again ; 
whereupon God caused him to die, and he remained in that condition 
one hundred years ; at the end of which God restored him to life, 
and he found a basket of figs and a cruse of wine he had with him 
not in the least spoiled or corrupted ; but his ass was dead, the bones 
only remaining, and these, while the prophet looked on, were raised 
and clothed with flesh, becoming an ass again, which being inspired 
with life, began immediately to bray (Jaldluddin, Yahya). This 
apocryphal story may perhaps have taken its rise from Nehemiah’s 
viewing of the ruins of Jerusalem” (Neh. 1i.)—Sale. 

The Quran is here again at variance with the facts of Jewish 
history. 


SIPARA III. | ( +385 °) [CHAP. II. 


we raise them, and afterwards clothe them with flesh. And 
when this was shown unto him, he said, I know that Gop 
is able to do all things. (260) And when Abraham said, 
O Lorp, show me how thou wilt raise the dead; Gop said, 
Dost thou not yet believe ? He answered, Yea, but J ask 
this that my heart may rest at ease. Gop said, Take there- 
fore four birds, and divide them; then lay a part of them 
on every mountain; then call them, and they shall come 
swiftly unto thee: and know that Gop is mighty and wise. 

| (261) The similitude of those who lay out their sub- 
stance, for advancing the religion of GOD, is as a grain of 
corn which produceth seven ears, and in every ear an 
hundred grains; for Gop giveth twofold unto whom he 
pleaseth: Gop is bounteous and wise. (262) They who 
lay out their substance for the religion of Gop, and 
afterwards follow not what they have so laid out by 
reproaches or mischief, they shall have their reward 
with their LorD; upon them shall no fear come, neither 
shall they be grieved. (263) A fair speech and to for- 
give. is better than alms followed by mischief. Gop is 


(260) Show me how thou wilt raise the dead. The occasion of this 
request of Abraham is said to have been on a doubt proposed to him 
by the devil, in human form, how it was possible for the several parts 
of the corpse of a man which lay on the seashore, and had been partly 
devoured by the wild beasts, the birds, and the fish, to be brought 
together at the resurrection.”—Sale, 

Take four birds and dwide them. “These birds, according to the 
commentators, were an eagle (a dove, say others), a peacock, a raven, 
and a cock, which Abraham cut to pieces, and mingled their flesh and 
feathers together, or, as some tell us, pounded all in a mortar, and 
dividing the mass into four parts laid them on so many mountains, 
but kept the heads, which he had preserved whole, in his hand, 
Then he called them each by their name, and immediately one part 
flew to the other, till they all recovered their first shape, and then 
came to be joined to their respective heads. 

“This seems to be taken from Abraham’s sacrifice of birds men- 
tioned by Moses (Gen. xv.), with some additional circumstances.”— 
Sale, Jalaluddin, Abdul Qadir. 

(262) Reproaches or mischief ; 2.e., either by reproaching the person 
whom they have relieved with what they have done for him, or by 
exposing his poverty to his prejudice,”— Sale, Jaldluddin.. 

See notes on vers. 42, 109, and 214. 

25 


ss) 
eS 


pee 


~ (2 
he 


CHAP, II.] 386) [SIPARA III. 


rich and merciful. (264) O true believers, make not your 
alms of none effect by reproaching or mischief, as he who 
layeth out what he hath to appear unto men éo give alms, 
and believeth not in Gop and the last day. The hkeness 
of such a one is as a flint covered with earth, on which 
a violent rain falleth, and leaveth it hard. They cannot 
prosper in anything which they have gained, for Gop 
directeth not the unbelieving people. (265) And the 
likeness of those who lay out their substance from a desire 
to please Gop, and for an establishment for their souls, is 
as a garden on a hill, on which a violent rain falleth, and 
it bringeth forth its fruits twofold; and if a violent rain 
falleth not on it, yet the dew falleth thereon: and Gop 
seeth that which ye do. (266) Doth any of you desire to 
have a garden of palm-trees and vines, through which 
rivers flow, wherein ye may have all kinds of fruits, and 
that he may attain to old age, and have a weak offspring? | 
then a violent fiery wind shall strike it, so that it shall be 
burned. Thus Gop declareth his signs unto you, that ye 
may consider. 

|| (267) O true believers, bestow alms of the good things 
which ye have gained, and of that which we have. pro- 
duced for you out of the earth, and choose not the bad 
thereof, to give it 7 alms, such as ye would not accept 
yourselves, otherwise than by connivance: and know that 
Gop is rich and worthy to be praised. (268) The devil 
threateneth you with poverty, and commandeth you 
filthy covetousness; but Gop promiseth you pardon from 








(266) A garden of palm-trees, de. “This garden is an emblem of 
alms given out of hypocrisy or attended with reproaches, which 
perish, and will be of no service hereafter to the giver.”—Sale, Jaldl- 
uddin. 

(267) Otherwise than by connivance. “That is, on having some 
amends made by the seller of such goods, either by abatement of the 
price, or giving something else to the buyer to make up the value.” 
—Sale. 

(268) The devil threateneth ... but God promiseth. Satan deters 
from giving by suggesting possible poverty. God encourages to give 
by the promise of pardon and salvation. Compare ver, 271, infra. 


SIPARA III. ] (R87 *) (CHAP. II. 


himself and abundance: Gop is bounteous and wise. 
(269) He giveth wisdom unto whom he pleaseth; and he 
unto whom wisdom is given hath received much good: but 
none will consider, except the wise of heart. (270) And 
whatever alms ye shall give, or whatever vow ye shall vow, 
verily Gop knoweth it; but the ungodly shall have none 
to help them. (271) If ye make your alms to appear, it 
is well; but if ye conceal them, and give them unto the 
poor, this will be better for you, and will atone for your 
sins; and Gop is well informed of that which ye do. 
(272) The direction of them belongeth not unto thee; but 
Gop directeth whom he pleaseth. The good that ye shall 
give in alms shall redound unto yourselves; and ye shall 
not give unless out of desire of seeing the face of Gon. 
And what good thing ye shall give in alms, it shall 
be repaid you, and ye shall not be treated unjustly ; 
(273) unto the poor who are wholly employed in fighting 
for the religion of Gop, and cannot go to and fro on the 
earth; whom the ignorant man thinketh rich, because of 


(271) Lf you make your alms to appear, it ts well. This contradicts 
the teaching of our Lord (Matt. vi. 1-4). The whole of Muhammad’s 
exhortation in these verses (271-274) is based upon the idea that 
almsgiving is profitable both in this world and the world to come. 
As an additional motive, he condones and thereby encourages that 
human pride which is willing to give for the sake of the reputation 
for liberality acquired thereby. 

If ye conceal them . . . this will be better for you. This translation 
agrees with that of Abdul Qadir, the Tafsir Hussaini, and the T'afsir- 
i-Raufi. This part of the exhortation is then in agreement with that 
of Matt. vi. 1-4. oth public giving and private charity are com- 
mended. See also ver. 274. 

But Rodwell translates this clause thus: “Do ye conceal them 
and give them to the poor? This, too, will be of advantage to you.” 

Abdul Q4dir paraphrases the verse thus: “If you make your 
alms to appear, it is well, for others will be encouraged to give; but 
if you conceal them, it is better, because the poor will not be made 
ashamed by exposing their poverty.” 

Will atone for your sins. This sentiment contradicts the teaching 
of the Bible, that “ without shedding of blood there is no remission.” 

(272) Ye shall not give unless, kc. ; 1.¢., “for the sake of a reward 
hereafter, and not for any worldly consideration.”—Sale. 

(273) The poor wholly employed in fighting (see notes on ver. 195). 
Here we observe that Muhammad’s exhortations to the performance 


RuBa. 


Ree 


CHAP. II.] (388 7) [SIPARA III. 


their modesty: thou shalt know them by this mark, they 
ask not men with importunity; and what good ye shall 
give in alms, verily GoD knoweth it. 

|| (274) They who distribute alms of their substance 
night and day, in private and in public, shall have their 
reward with the Lorp; on them shall no fear come, 
neither shall they be grieved. (275) They who devour 
usury shall not arise from the dead, but as he ariseth 
whom Satan hath infected by a touch: this shall happen 
to them because they say, Truly selling is but as usury: 
and yet Gop hath permitted selling and forbidden usury. 
He therefore who when there cometh unto him an admoni- 
tion from his Lorp abstaineth from usury for the future, 
shall have what is past forgiven him, and his affair be- 
longeth unto Gop. But whoever returneth to usury, they 
shall be the companions of hell-fire, they shall continue 
therein forever. (276) Gop shall take his blessing from | 
usury, and shall increase alms: for Gop loveth no infidel, 
or ungodly person. (277) But they who believe and do 
that which is right, and observe the stated times of prayer, 
and pay their legal alms, they shall have their reward 


of religious duty were closely connected with his scheme for political 
advancement, 

Their modesty. If ever this virtue belonged to a ghdzt or Muslim 
warrior, it has long since been supplanted by the most impudent and 
cruel audacity. 

(274) See notes on ver. 271. 

(275) Whom Satan hath infected; viz., “like demonzacs or pos- 
sessed persons ; that is, in great horror and distraction of mind, and 
convulsive agitation of body.”—Sale. 

Usury is one of the seventeen kabira or great sins. Hughes’ Notes 
on Muhammadanism, p. 139. 

Shall have what is past forgiven. Repentance thus atones for past 
sin. This, again, contradicts the teaching of the “former Scriptures.” 
The Zafsir-1-Raufi, while recognising the above as a possible inter- 
pretation, prefers another, viz., that those who had borrowed money 
before the date of the prohibition of usury, are hereby relieved from 
the responsibility of payment of interest on their debts. This is 
ex post facto law of a kind scarcely creditable to Isl4m. And yet 
this interpretation seems to be borne out by the exhortation of ver. 
278. 

(277) See notes on vers. 3-5, 37, 38, and 177. 


SIPARA III.] (1385), ) [CHAP IT. 


with their Lorp: there shall come no fear on them, neither 
shall they be grieved. (278) O true believers, fear Gop, 
and remit that which remaineth of usury, if ye really 
believe ; (279) but if ye do it not, hearken unto war; 
which is declared against you from Gop and his apostle: 
yet if ye repent, ye shall have the capital of your money. 
Deal not unjustly with others, and ye shall not be dealt 
with unjustly. (280) If there be any debtor under a diffi- 
culty of paying his debt, let his creditor wait till it be easy 
Sor him to do tt; but if ye remit it as alms, it will be 
better for you, if ye knew it. (281) And fear the day 
wherein ye shall return unto Gop; then shall every soul 
be paid what it hath gained, and they shall not be treated 
unjustly. 

| (282) O true believers, when ye bind yourselves one 
to the other in a debt for a certain time, write it down; 
and let a writer write between you according to justice, 
and let not the writer refuse writing according to what 
Gop hath taught him; but let him write, and let him 
who oweth the debt dictate, and let him fear Gop his 
Lorp, and not diminish aught thereof. But if he who 
oweth the debt be foolish, or weak, or be not able 
to dictate himself, let his agent dictate according to 
equity; and call to witness two witnesses of your neigh- 


(278) Remit that which remaineth ; r.¢., “the interest due before 
usury was prohibited. For this some of Muhammad’s followers 
exacted of their debtors, supposing they lawfully might.”—Sale, 
Jaldluddin. See also note on ver. 275. 

(280) Want till rt be easy for him, &c. This regulation does great 
credit to Muhammad, and is yet carried out in practice by many of 
his followers. 

(281) And fear the day, dc. “The fear rather than the love of 
God is the spur of Isl4m.”—Poole in Introduction to Lane’s Selections 
from the Koran, p. xxx. 

(282) His agent. ‘ Whoever manages his affairs, whether his 
father, heir, guardian, or interpreter.”—Sale, Jalaluddin. 

A man and two women, Another illustration of the Muslim esti- 
mate of woman. She is but half aman! A man, too ignorant to 
dictate an article of agreement, may still be equal to any two women, 
however intelligent; for “if one of those women should mistake, the 
other of them will cause her to recollect!” 


leo 
Kee) 


iN 
00 |= 


CHAP, II.] ( 390 ) [SIPARA III. 


bouwring men; but if there be not two men, let there be a 
man and two women of those whom ye shall choose for 
witnesses: if one of those women should mistake, the 
other of them will cause her to recollect. And the wit- 
nesses shall not refuse, whensoever they shall be called. 
And disdain not to write it down, be it a large debt, or be 
it a small one, until its time of payment: this will be more 
just in the sight of Gop, and more right for bearing wit- 
ness, and more easy, that ye may not doubt. But ifit be 
a present bargain which ye transact between yourselves, 
it shall be no crime in you, if ye write it not down. And 
take witnesses when ye sell one to the other, and let no 
harm be done to the writer, nor to the witness; which if 
ye do, it will surely be injustice in you: and fear Gop, 
and Gop will instruct you, for Gop knoweth all things, 
(283) And if ye be on a journey, and find no writer, let 
pledges be taken: but if one of you trust the other, let 
him who is trusted return what he is trusted with, and 
fear Gop his Lorp. And conceal not the testimony, for 
he who concealeth it hath surely a wicked heart: Gop 
knoweth that which ye do. 

|| (284) Whatever is in heaven and on earth is Gop’s; 
and whether ye manifest that which is in your minds, or 
conceal it, Gop will call you to account for it, and will 
forgive whom he pleaseth, and will punish whom he 
pleaseth; for Gop is almighty. (285) The apostle be- 
lieveth in that which hath been sent down unto him from - 


(283) Return what he ts trusted with, Forbids a breach of trust 
and all embezzlement.—T7afsir-1-Rauft. 

(284) Whether ye manzfest that which vs in your minds, de. Abdul 
Qadir says that on hearing these words, one of the companions said 
that this command was exceedingly difficult to perform, whereupon 
the following two verses were revealed. He understands these verses 
as mitigating in some degree the rigour of this command. Modern 
Muslims generally agree that thoughts of evil only acquire a moral 
character by their manifestation in word or deed. 

Will forgive whom he pleaseth, Pardon of sin here depends on the 
will of God alone, Compare notes on vers, 271 and 275. 


SIPARA III. ] Gis6 Taye hs [cHapP. I. 


his Lorp, and the faithful also. Every one of them be- 
lieveth in Gop, and his angels, and his scriptures, and his — 
apostles: we make no distinction at all between his 
apostles. And they say, We have heard, and do obey; 
we umplore thy mercy, O Lorp, for unto thee must we 
return. (286) Gop will not force any soul beyond its 
capacity: it shall have the good which it gaineth, and it 
shall suffer the evil which it gaineth. O LorD, punish us 
not if we forget or act sinfully: O Lorp, lay not on us a 
burden like that which thou hast laid on those who have 
been before us; neither make us, O Lorp, to bear what 
we have not strength to bear, but be favourable unto us, 
and spare us, and be merciful unto us. Thou art our 
patron, help us therefore against the unbelieving nations. 


(285) We make no distinction at all between his apostles. This verse 
contradicts ver. 253 and chap. xvii. 57. 

“ But this, say the Muhammadans, the Jews do, who receive Moses, 
but reject Jesus ; and the Christians, who receive both those prophets, 
but reject Muhammad.”—Sale, Jalaluddin, 

(286) A burden like that which thou hast laid on those who, kc. 
‘That is, on the Jews, who, asthe commentators tell us, were ordered 
to kill a man by way of atonement, to give one-fourth of their sub- 
stance in alms, and to cut off an unclean ulcerous part, and were for- 
bidden to eat fat, or animals that divide the hoof, and were obliged 
to observe the sabbath, and other particulars wherein the Muhamma- 
dans are at liberty.”—Sale, Jaldluddin, Yahya. 

See note on ver. 284. 

Abdul Qadir says, ‘‘ God approved of this prayer and accepted it. 
This command no longer rests heavily upon us, so that the thoughts 
of the heart are no longer taken into account, and sins of carelessness 
are forgiven !” 

The Quran, then, seems to be responsible for the general insensi- 
bility of Muslims to sin, and especially to sinful states of the heart. 
The doctrine of personal holiness is alike foreign to the Quran and 
the experience of the followers of Islam. 


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